The Lyman Family
by bauerfreak
Summary: AU Josh and Donna have been married 20 years and are now both members of Congress raising two 16year old girls, Kaitlyn and Audrey.
1. Default Chapter

Author: Hanna Morgan 

E-mail address: The Lyman Family

Characters: Josh and Donna

Category: Alternate Universe; drama

Pairing: J/D

Rating: YTEEN

Chapter One 

Disclaimer: I don't own West Wing or any of its character. I do not own any of the songs used in this story. The original characters in this story belong to me.

Jessica Simpson – "You Don't Have to Let Go"   
I don't need your strength anymore 

_Cuz you've made me strong_

You may not see the woman in me 

_That you dreamed of holding me in your arms_

_All the days that you gave_

_All the moments you saved me_

_Praying for my life_

_Sacrifice just to make me_

_Who I am on my own_

_You don't have to let go_

_You don't say it_

_But it's in your eyes_

_All the fear of goodbye_

_But I can promise_

_You'll always have a place and_

_A way to my heart_

_All the days that you gave_

_All the moments you saved me_

_Praying for my life_

_Sacrifice just to make me_

_Who I am on my own_

_You don't have to let go_

_I can live cuz you lived for me_

_And I can love because you loved me_

_All the days that you gave_

_All the moments you saved me_

_Praying all my life_

_Sacrifice just to make me_

_Who I am on my own_

_You don't have to let go_

_You don't have to let go_

One of Josh and Donna Lyman's twin daughters, Audrey, was busy getting dressed into her workout gear. On her perfect size four body that she'd inherited from her mother, she put on black Adidas tear-away pants, a yellow sports bra and a white tank top along with New Balance tennis shoes. Her beautiful, straight blonde hair was pulled back in a messy bun with a pink elastic headband to hold it back. As a member of her high school cross-country team, Audrey needed to run every day to keep her fitness up.

She and her sister Kaitlyn, knew, however, that their father and mother also had very high academic expectations. Their parents were, after all, both members of the United States Congress. As juniors, the twins were preparing for the SATs (the second time) and applying to colleges, many of them Ivy League. Both girls were enrolled in challenging, college-level courses such as Advanced Placement Government, AP Chemistry and AP English. Audrey and Katie were very bright, and their parents were strict about grades and general expectations. It was midterms, so Josh had been especially diligent about reminding them of this.

The twins had grown up in a very competitive high-stakes world with both parents as politicians. They'd learned early that certain expectations had been set upon them that perhaps other children didn't have. Both were blessed with high IQ's and were very capable students but, nonetheless, pressure was an evil thing. From the time they were three years old, they'd been sent to the best schools in Virginia. They both had the drive to do well, but Josh and Donna were always there to push them along and remind them of what was expected.

Audrey and Kaitlyn were like any other set of twin girls growing up in the 21st and 20th centuries. They were best friends, bonded tighter than any regular set of sisters. But they were vastly different in both physical appearance and personality. Audrey, the older twin by ten minutes, had straight, blonde hair just like her mother's and stood tall. She was vibrant, witty and passionate with a mouth to match. Kaitlyn, who was also tall, had dark brown, curly hair like her father. She was also smart as a whip but was more reserved. She had her passions, but chose to express them through actions and not through words like her sister.

Josh sat at the breakfast bar in the family kitchen reading some political jibber jabber when Audrey walked in dressed in her running gear. She looked forward to her running time each day. It was a chance to get away from the day's worries, and the pressure of college applications. She stood by the bar and started stretching her right leg up from behind.

"Well, I'm going running." She told her father.

"Do you have all your homework done?" He automatically asked.

She rolled her eyes and that earned her a warning look from her dad.

"No, dad. It's only 5:30. You know I'll be up till around midnight." She switched legs.

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. Studying and sleep need to come before running.

"I'll get kicked off the team if I don't run every day, dad."

"Well, you know our expectations about grades. If you don't keep them up, we'll take you off the team anyway. Academics always come first. And sleep."

"I know, dad. You remind me a lot." She retorted. "I know you wouldn't take me off the Young Democrats, though." She joked and gave him a sweet smile.

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"See ya in forty five."

"Bye pumpkin."

The next day, Josh got an email from Mr. Hilman, who had both girls in AP English. Audrey had failed her midterm, an essay on Hamlet. He'd emailed Mr. Lyman because it was so out of character for Audrey to get anything below a 'B'. Josh didn't know what to think. She'd never gotten anything lower than a 'C' in her life (and they had to listen to her moaning for a week). He emailed Mr. Hilman back to thank him and assured him it would be discussed at home. How could she have bombed this so badly? He was worried and slightly angry, but wanted to give her the opportunity to come clean and tell him what happened.

When Audrey came home that evening, Josh beat around the bush a little about the subject.

"Hi, dad." She greeted him cheerily as she plopped her 20 pound bookbag on the floor and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey, babe." He kissed her back.

"Uh….I'm starving!" she exclaimed, making her way to the fridge and retrieving an apple.

"Dinner's in an hour."

"Okay. Just one apple." She leaned on the counter.

Josh sighed. "So, how's your day?"

Audrey looked away. "Oh, fine. Same old, same old. High school drama."

"Nothing bad happened?" he probed.

Audrey shot him a puzzled look. "No. Why are you being so negative?"

"No reason." He lied, disappointed that he'd have to bring her midterms up. "How are your midterms going?"

"Just fine, dad." She said, uneasily. He was making her uncomfortable. He couldn't know about her English midterm, could he? Unless…

"I got an email from Mr. Hilman today." He stated coolly.

Oh shit, she thought. If there was one thing that ticked her father off more than republicans, it was lying. And he'd caught her in a bold-faced one.

"Apparently, you failed his midterm over Hamlet. Do you know anything about that?"

Audrey stopped eating her apple and put the heel of her hand on the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, avoiding her dad's stare.

"Audrey." He calmly called again. "Pick your head up and talk to me."

She did as he asked and saw a disappointed face looking back at her, eyebrows raised.

"I thought we were having a multiple choice test, but it turned out to be an essay. I wasn't prepared."

He wasn't buying it for a minute. "Audrey, you and I both know that arguing is one of your strongsuits. You're on the debate team. You could have BS-ed your way through that essay, no problem. Now, tell me what's really going on."

"Dad, I just bombed…"

"Audrey!" he said a little more harshly than he intended "Quit tiptoeing around. Tell me happened! How the hell did you bomb this midterm?"

Josh saw tears brimming at Audrey's eyes.

" I…" she stopped when she heard her voice shake.

"Go on." He urged gently.

She took a cleansing breath.

"I didn't have time to read the book."

Josh shifted his weight, disturbed by the news.

"You didn't have time to read the book?" he repeated, which was never a good sign. He stood with one hand on his hip. "Why was that?"

She slammed her hand down on the counter. "Because you and mom made me take so many damn AP classes, I don't have time to study for them all!"

"Do not raise your voice to me!" he warned her. "You can handle the workload, Audrey. I think you have too many extracurricular activities going on."

"I live for extracurriculars, dad, because it's my only escape from school and from you and mom!" She immediately regretted the cheap shot.

"Watch it, Audrey!" he yelled.

"And who are you to know what I can handle?" she was gesturing angrily.

"I am taking you off the swim team and yearbook staff so you can concentrate on school."

"Dad!" she pleaded.

"And you are grounded until you bring your English grade back up to an 'A'".

She looked down, defeated. "This is so unfair." She muttered, glaring back up at him.

"And you have dishwashing duty for a week for lying to me about it."

She was about to burst.

"Now go to your room and get busy on your homework."

She stormed off to her bedroom, slamming the door to let her father know her displeasure.

Josh sighed and apathetically started cooking dinner (spaghetti, one of the few things he could cook), but his mind remained on his daughter.

Before he could beat himself up too much, his wife Donna arrived home about 20 minutes later.

"Hey, babe." He greeted her, stirring the spaghetti.

"Hi honey." She said. She walked over to him after putting her bag down and wrapped her arms around him from behind, kissing him on the neck. "That surprisingly smells good."

"Maybe it'll lure Audrey out of her room for dinner."

She released her embrace with her husband.

"What's wrong?"

Josh dramatically sighed. "Got an email from her English teacher to say she failed the midterm. So I confronted her about it."

"Audrey failed something?"

"And that's not all."

"There's more?"

"She lied to me about it. Said she hadn't heard about any midterms."

Donna let out an annoyed and confused sigh. "What'd you do?"

"I told her she was grounded until she brought her grade up to an 'A'. And she's got dishes for lying about it."

"How did she fail something? She's never gotten below a 'C' on…anything. Her only 'C' was on that home ec. project last year." Both parents briefly smiled at the fact she'd inherited the Lyman cooking gene instead of the preferred Moss.

"Said she didn't have enough time to read the book. Do you think we should take her out of some stuff?"

"Yeah, I think we should. She needs to concentrate on school. The Ivy League's pretty picky."

"Well, she's not too happy about it."

"Not surprised. Well, we have two fowl-ups in one day." Donna sadly reported.

"What? What did Katie do?"

"She started mouthing off to me in the car on the way home when I talked to her about college apps."

Josh scrunched his face up. "What the hell has gotten into them?"

"Well, you've cooked the past few nights. Maybe it's your fault."

Josh acted mock-insulted. "Hey, I'm the good parent. I'm home before…" he glanced at his watch "7:15." Donna replaced his hurt face by giving him a kiss.

"So what did you do, anyway, sub-par parent?"

He got smacked for that one.

"She's not going anywhere tonight. She's outside playing basketball."

"Great. Dinner's gonna be fun."

"Yeah." She sighed.

"Well, I'm going to go talk to her. This needs to be nipped in the bud." He walked around the counter heading towards the garage.

"Joshua Lyman, are you using this as an excuse to go play basketball?"

"Darling, I am merely partaking in my daughter's upbringing."

"Yeah, whatever." She gave him a playful look. "Don't cheat."

Josh smiled as he went out the garage door and headed towards the driveway, where his other daughter, Kaitlyn, was dribbling a basketball quite fiercely. Her dark curly brown hair had been pulled back into a messy bun. She took after her mother personality-wise but her hair was a stark contrast from Donna's. And his. Kaitlyn always joked that Donna loved their mailman. She was stubborn and emotional, and also had a sharp tongue like her sister, which often got her into trouble. Katie and Josh were like two peas in a pod. He regularly pissed off Audrey, but he and Katie were best buds, which is why he thought he could help her out.

"Hey." He called out, causing her to spin around with a most unwelcoming glare on her pretty face. He held his hands up, asking for the ball. She angrily bounced it to him.

"What!" she put her hands on her hips.

Josh raised his eyebrows in warning as he dribbled the ball.

"Your mom tells me you had a little problem in the car." He shot the ball and made it.

Katie retrieved it.

"Well doesn't mom know everything." She said mockingly, once again pounding the ball against the ground, trying to release her anger. Unlike her relationship with her father, she wasn't too attached to her mother.

"Are you trying to kill the ball?" he tried to lighten the mood. She just glared back at him and continued the motion.

"If she wants me to write my friggin' college essay, she should just stop asking me about it and maybe I would do it."

Typical Kaitlyn, he thought to himself. Stubborn as a mule. She hated being told to do things, especially by her mother.

"Well you know, it is pretty important if you want to get in to a good school."

"Believe me, I know that dad." She answered back quickly as she made a lay-up from the right. "But I'm only a junior. I have the whole summer."

"That's a reasonable argument." He admitted. But he also knew kids didn't work in the summer. Who would want to? There's a whole three months to procrastinate by going to the beach and doing God knows what.

"Thank you." She said, a little pleased with herself.

"But Kaitlyn, we've talked about this before. It's the way you disagree."

"Please, dad!" she raised her voice. "I don't need this right now!"

"Katie, you want to be treated like an adult, but you aren't taking the responsibilities. You need to hear this." The conversation turned serious and they both stood still. Katie kept the ball rested on her right hip. "Your mother and I have a little more life experience than you. Do we know everything? No." he answered his own question. "But we know you really have to be on top of your game to get ahead. We both know what it takes to get into Harvard. You can get there if you want. If you take the right steps. That's why we're strict with grades and push you to take those AP courses."

Josh's eyes were locked on his daughter's and he saw tears brimming in them, but she looked down to try to hide it. Oh Christ, he thought. Two daughters crying in one day. Just what he needed.

"Katie…" he dropped his voice and walked towards her. He was a sucker for tears. He felt his insides turn to mush.

She put a hand up in refusal.

"I've worked my ass off all throughout high school…" she quickly corrected herself "No, all my life. And what I've done isn't enough to impress the Ivy League? 3.95 G.P.A, 1540 SATs, extracurriculars and honor classes out the wazoo. What the hell else do they want, dad? What else can I do?" she was getting irate.

She broke down in tears and the protective side of Josh came out and even though she'd pushed him away before, he pulled her swiftly into a hug as she let out her frustrations in tears.

"Shhhhh." He whispered, one hand stroking her hair. "I know it's so hard."

"I can't do any more, dad." She cried, her voice muffled from being buried in her father's shoulder.

He kissed her head and then rested his chin on it. He just held her and rocked back and forth for a few minutes like he had so many times before.

After she'd calmed down, he gently removed her from her hiding place. He kept his hands on Katie's shoulders and tilted his head to try to look into her eyes, but she continued to look down.

"Look at me." He directed softly. She reluctantly did so and met his gaze.

"Life's full of tough things, okay? But you've gotta keep your chin up and you have to rise above it all. You can do it all, Katie. You're a Lyman. A Moss-Lyman."

She nodded and offered him a small smile. Josh took her head in his hands and kissed her gently on the forehead and hugged her one more time.

"Good girl. Harvard's not that great anyway." He joked to make her feel better. "I bet dinner's about ready."

"Is Audrey home?" she inquired.

"Yeah, but she's not too happy. She's grounded too, but for much longer." He said, letting Katie know she hadn't gotten out of anything for crying.

"For what?"

"She failed Hamlet."

"She did? I thought it was easy."

"Yeah. Hilman said you aced it. Nice job. Apparently she didn't have time to read it." He opened the door for his daughter.

"I'm not surprised."

"We're taking her out of yearbook and swimming."

"So she hates you right now?"

"She loathes me, Katie." He corrected her.

"She'll get over it." She said confidently as they reached the kitchen.

"Hey." Donna greeted them from the spaghetti sauce. "Have you calmed down now?"

Katie sighed. "Yeah." Josh looked at her, silently urging her to say something to her mother. He read his wife well, knowing that she was hurt by what Katie had said. "Sorry I snapped at you, mom. I'm really stressed out."

"I'm only trying to help you get into college, honey. I know the whole process is intimidating and tedious, but is has to be done."

Katie looked down. "Yeah." She agreed. "Thanks for putting up with me." She offered an apology. Josh looked over at his youngest daughter, patted her on the back and then gave her a supportive kiss on her right temple.

"Will you go get your sister for dinner?" Donna asked her.

"Sure." She hopped off to the bedroom of her twin sister, which was adjoined to her own by a bathroom and vanity center.

Once Kaitlyn was out of earshot, Donna began. "So, did you work your Lyman magic?" Donna teased.

Josh rubbed his eyebrow with his thumb the way he always did when he didn't know what to do.

"She broke down." He told her seriously.

"Really?"

"She's really stressed out about this college stuff and being good enough and all that. She was crying."

"Was she?" Donna said, her forehead slightly wrinkled from thought.

"Does she ever talk about this stuff with you?"

"No, not really. She's always been closer to you, Josh. She can open up to you."

"Lucky me." He looked away.

"Hey, you should be thankful that your daughter feels so close to you. Most teenage girls hate their fathers."

"I am, Donna." He admitted. "But I want her to be close to both of us, you know?"

Donna stopped what she was doing. "Josh. Katie and I have a great relationship. I am fine with it. She may hate me sometimes, but that's to be expected. As long as she has one parent she can really talk to, that's all that matters." She looked at him seriously.

Josh looked at his wife lovingly, thankful that she was such a wonderful and selfless mother. He always felt like goofy dad, but she always made him feel important. He walked over to his wife of twenty years and cupped her face in his hands and slowly kissed her. Before they knew it, they'd been kissing for about a minute when they were interrupted by Katie returning.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed, startling them a bit "Let's tone down the PDA, _please_! I'm about to eat dinner."

"Shut up." Josh told her. He kissed Donna one last time on the lips and then they both started taking things to the table.

"Is your sister coming?" Josh asked Katie.

"Yeah, she'll be here. She's just being stubborn."

"What a surprise." He muttered. "Audrey! Dinner's on the table!" he yelled down the hall. He heard some hideous form of music playing behind the closed door.

About a minute later, Audrey apathetically trudged into the room with a scowl on her face.

During dinner, Donna, Josh and Katie spoke warmly about their days (except for the car incident) whereas Audrey sat silently, poking at her food with her fork, glaring at her father. This was not lost on Josh, who called her on it near the end of the meal.

"So Audrey. Is there something you want to say to me? You've been sending me the evil eye the entire meal." He looked to his right where Audrey was sitting.

She didn't answer. He could tell she was stirring things up in her mind, thinking of something smart-alek to say. She was a very smart girl with a wit to match.

"Good. I'm not in the mood to get into it with you." He was a little disappointed in himself for the low blow and he could tell Donna was too, reading the body language he knew so well after over 20 years together. But she would never say anything in front of the girls. They were a united front.

"I'll check in at a more convenient time for you when you're done falling in love with yourself."

There it was.

He did everything he could to hold his temper, but it was very difficult. Josh knew he couldn't let her know she'd gotten the best of him. When dealing with his teenage daughters, he had to make sure he was the adult.

Donna waited for the rage, but it didn't come.

"Audrey," he started, doing his best to remain calm, but his voice was edgy. "I suggest you adjust your attitude right now."

She gave him a challenging look.

"You need to leave the table." Donna told her.

Josh prayed she wouldn't say anything else because he knew he'd snap and it wouldn't be pretty. Audrey knew this also and decided not to in order to avoid further punishment. She knew she'd gone far enough. Audrey got up from her chair, not without attitude, and stormed off to her room slamming the door. The horrendous music came on again.

Josh put his head in his hands and sighed heavily. Audrey's outburst had really put a damper on things, needless to say. Nobody spoke for a minute or so as Josh took long, calming breaths. Then Katie asked if she could be excused.

"Sure honey." Her mother replied. Josh continued to look down. Donna put a supportive hand on her husbands' forearm, causing him to finally look at her.

"It'll pass." She said comfortingly.

"I don't understand her, Donna. We used to be so close…"

"Like you and Katie are now?" she finished his sentence for him.

"Yeah." He said, looking at his wife like an epiphany had just come over him.

"Well, Katie's the one you're close to and Audrey not so much. But that's okay. There's still another parent, remember?"

"Yeah." He smiled slightly.

"Now it's your turn to be the evil parent." She joked. That got a small chuckle. "I'll give her a few minutes to cool off and I'll go talk to her, okay?"

"Okay," he whispered. "Thanks."

"Are you still gonna make her do the dishes?"

"No. We'll leave it for tonight. She might purposely break them." She had done so when she was forced to do the dishes when she was nine years old.

Josh decided to stay away from Audrey the rest of the night. He knew she was angry with him and he really didn't want to get into it with her. Donna seemed to be in her room for hours. He wondered what they were talking about.

He finally decided to go talk with Katie, who was busy doing AP Chemistry homework on the floor of her bedroom. He gently knocked on the door.

"Katie-bell?" he called her. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." She called back. Josh came in and closed the door. He saw her on the floor and pulled the chair out from her desk and straddled it backwards.

"Hey, dad." She still looked at her homework.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" he got to the point.

"That depends."

"Do you feel like you can come talk to be about…anything?"

The question caused her to shift her sitting position a little as she contemplated what she was going to say.

"Well, not everything." She looked at him, wondering what he was trying to get at. "You don't want to know everything. You couldn't handle knowing everything." She told him honestly.

Josh paused a moment, wondering just exactly what "everything" meant to his sixteen-year-old daughter. "The important things." he clarified. "Like friends, drugs…"

"For the most part, dad, yeah. I don't want to talk about sex with you though." She said that word a little too casually for his liking. Isn't she eight years old?

"Okay. I can understand that. But everything else?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I feel comfortable."

"What about Audrey? Do you think she can come to me with things?"

Katie let out a surprised and dismissive "psssssh" sound.

"Dad." She started, seriously. "We all know your relationship with Audrey is a complicated one."

"Yeah, I know." He felt like the child.

"She can come to you with some things, but I think she confides more with mom."

"I know." He admitted. She's always been closer to Donna.

"Does she tell you stuff that she doesn't tell mom?"

Katie grinned at the question. "Are you asking me to rat on my sister, dad?"

"No!" he said defensively, though he knew that's exactly what he was doing. He decided to admit it when he saw the look his daughter had on her face that so resembled the look Donna gave him when she knew he was lying. "Okay, yeah, a little bit. I just want to make sure she's not….you know."

"What?" she smiled, forcing him to tell her.

"Doing crazy, dangerous….stuff?"

"Dad, she has values, you know."

Josh let out a breath of relief, thankful to hear this.

"She may be more of a free spirit, but you gotta trust her. You have taught us some useful things, though they may be few and far between." She added in jest.

There were very few people Josh trusted more to tell the truth than Katie. They'd always been able to be honest with one another and he trusted her word fully.

"Thanks, baby." He got up and pushed the chair back in. Then he leaned over and kissed his daughter on the top of her head. "I love you."

"Love you too, daddy." She replied. He felt his heart melt.

Later that night, Donna was still in Audrey's room and Josh still decided to stay away. He sat in the living room reading the latest edition of Time with CNN on in the background. Katie had also joined him. She was curled up in the corner of the couch reading To Kill a Mockingbird for school and Josh sat on "The Chair" – the affectionate name for the 15-year-old recliner only Josh was allowed to sit on.

"Do you want me to turn the TV off?" Josh asked his daughter.

"No, I'm listening." She replied, keeping her eyes on the book in front of her.

"How can you be…" his voice trailed off.

"The Moss gene." She simply stated.

Josh smiled. Both girls had an amazing multitasking ability that he could only pretend to have. They got it from their mother, along with the ability to see right through him.

"What did they just say?" he quizzed her.

"The republicans have screwed up again. Big surprise."

Josh was proud that both girls identified themselves as democrats by the time they reached kindergarten. He had them trained so well. Donna had been slightly horrified and worried when Katie started asking her classmates what their party association was. No one knew what she was talking about. The twins could talk the political talk very early on and their father beamed with pride.

"Have you read this, dad?" she gestured with her book.

He looked over and saw the book title. "Yeah, in like, seventh grade." He said, matter-of-factly.

Katie dropped her arms to the couch, annoyed, and gave Josh a look.

"Well maybe you should fight harder for higher academic standards, Congressman. I just wanted to show you this passage. You probably don't remember since seventh grade was, what, seventy years ago?"

"Watch it, Kaitlyn Marie." He jokingly warned her. "Give me the damn book." He reached out his arm and signaled with his fingers to turn the novel over, still staring at CNN.

Katie got up and sat on the floor next to "The Chair" while Josh began to read aloud.

_After supper, Atticus sat down with the paper and called, "Scout, ready to read?" The Lord sent me more than I could bear, and I went to the front porch. Atticus followed me. _

_"Something wrong, Scout?"_

_I told Atticus I didn't feel very well and didn't think I'd go to school any more if it was all right with him._

_Atticus sat down in the swing and crossed his legs. His fingers wandered to his watchpocket; he said that was the only way he could think. He waited in amiable silence, and I sought to reinforce my position: "You never went to school and you do all right, so I'll just stay home too. You can teach me like Granddaddy taught you 'n' Uncle Jack."_

_"No I can't," said Atticus. "I have to make a living. Besides, they'd put me in jail if I kept you at home - dose of magnesia for you tonight and school tomorrow."_

_"I'm feeling alright, really."_

_"Thought so. Now what's the matter?"_

_Bit by bit, I told him the day's misfortunes. "-and she said you taught me all wrong, so we can't ever read and more, ever. Please don't send me back, please sir."_

"Kind of like you and me in kindergarten, remember?" Katie commented.

Josh thought back and knew exactly what she was talking about.

"You were already reading at a third grade level and you hated school because you were so bored."

"I knew mom wouldn't let me stay home, so I tried to work on you. But you didn't let me either. Bastard."

"And look how awful you turned out."

Katie punched him playfully.

"Read the next part too." She told him.

Josh continued to read aloud. Katie never told him when to stop so he kept on reading. He was enjoying it and started to recall the characters and themes of the book. Soon, Katie managed to squeeze into the oversized chair with her father and she rested her head on his shoulder. About twenty minutes into the session, Donna finally emerged from Audrey's room. She winked at Josh to let him know everything with Audrey was okay. She took a moment to watch the two together and then went about doing various things around the house, leaving the pair to bond.

Audrey emerged a few minutes later from her room and walked to the kitchen. She heard her father's quiet, gentle voice reading a book aloud to her sister. Her mother had a long talk with her about school and pressure and dad. She'd always gotten along better with her mom, opposite her sister. But she still had a special adoration for her father. He was the man who played with them on the playground when none of the other dads did, who cooked horrible scrambled eggs and sausage but always with a certain silly pep, and who read stories to them as little girls with funny voices like no one else could.

She felt the urge to go join them. Slowly, Audrey walked over to where the two were sitting. She leaned on the back of "The Chair" and affectionately pet his curly hair.

He paused at her touch and looked up.

"Hey, pumpkin. You okay?"

"Yeah." She spoke quietly.

"Wanna join us?" Katie gave her an inviting smile. She was enjoying this rarity and wanted her sister to enjoy it too.

Audrey pouted a little.

"But there's no room."

"Oh nonsense. There's always room." He patted on the arm's chair. "Get over here."

"You mean I get to sit on the beloved 'Chair'?" she walked around. "Is this a special holiday in Josh Lyman Land?"

"Well, don't get too attached. It's very temperamental and doesn't like visitors."

"Right." She plopped herself down on the arm and swung her feet across her father's lap onto Katie's, who happily held them in her arms. Finally, she wrapped her arms around Josh's shoulders and rested her head on his, looking on to the book.

Josh had to pause a moment to take the scene in. His twin girls wrapped up altogether, intertwined with him, as he read a book to them. They hadn't done this since they were eight years old. Their relationship was a little more complicated now, but the essence was still there. A father and his two little girls enjoying a book together. How can it get any better than this?


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

It was Monday morning, the hardest day of the week for the Lyman household. After lying in for two days, the family of four had to get their bodies back on track. They liked their jobs and school was okay, but like most of the world, they had the Monday morning blues. Josh and Donna headed off to D.C. after they'd gotten the girls going. They'd decided not to raise their daughters in the hustle-bustle capitol of the United States and moved to the suburbs after witnessing first-hand the cutthroat politics of the city. They instead decided to set up home in the nearby town of Manassas, a 30 mile drive from the city. There, they could own a decent-sized colonial-style home complete with a white-picket fence. They sent the girls to the New School of Northern Virginia, a small private school of about 250 kids in nearby Fairfax.

Their parents had dragged them out of bed and now it was Kaitlyn and Audrey's responsibility to get themselves ready, drive to school, and get there on time. They could sleep in a whole twenty minutes later since they'd both received their driver's licenses. What an adventure that had been. Donna had been too terrified to teach them, so it was Josh's brave soul who took on the responsibility. Let's just say the family's Jeep Grand Cherokee had a few new scratches and Josh rediscovered the capabilities of his lungs. He also seriously considered fighting for a higher driving age, but Donna told him he was being ridiculous and overprotective. Even though he was a powerful Congressman, Donna could still put him in his place like she'd always done.

Katie was always the twin who took extra personal care of herself. On this Monday, she bravely got into the shower at 6:00 a.m., styled her hair and carefully applied her makeup. Audrey, quite the happy-go-lucky one, rolled out of bed at 7:00 a.m., fifteen minutes before they had to leave, threw on whatever didn't smell and pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail. She was not the perky Monday morning girl her sister was. She was finally applying a minimal amount of powder and a dab of lip-gloss, when Katie burst into their shared vanity center to hurry her along.

"Would you get your skanky ass going? Jesus! We're going to be tardy!"

"Jesus, we're going to be tardy!" she mocked, glaring at her sister in the mirror.

"You don't have to get all bitchy. I don't want to lose my car privileges."

"Take a chill pill."

"Just hurry!" she said nervously, waving her hands around frantically. As Katie left, Audrey made a face at herself in the mirror to dismiss her sister's uptightness. Katie had been a spaz lately, she thought to herself. She quickly finished up, grabbed her backpack and headed for the kitchen. Their mom had left them both a granola bar and a glass of orange juice on the bar along with $20 each for the week's lunch money. They both chugged back their OJ and grabbed the bars to eat in the car. Katie had already taken the car keys. Audrey didn't feel like fighting her this morning and followed her wordlessly out to the car. The twins climbed into their brand-new Honda Accord they shared. Donna thought getting them a new car was over-the-top, but Josh liked to spoil his daughters. The rule was that they had to get to school on time or they'd have to take the school bus again until they could prove they could be "responsible" again.

It was 7:15 and the tardy bell rang at 7:30. Katie sped a little to make sure they weren't late. At a usual 12-minute drive, they were cutting it close. As they drove, Audrey noticed her sister nervously tapping the steering wheel at a stoplight.

"Katie, would you CALM DOWN?" she urged. "We're not going to be late."

Katie let out a dismissive sigh. "I hope not. If we are, it's your fault."

"Oh my God, Katie, big deal if we get one tardy and lose our car privilege for, like, two days."

"Well, you may not care what mom and dad think but I do."

"Suck up." She muttered just loud enough for her sister to hear, still staring out the side window.

The light turned green and Katie accelerated fast, pushing an unprepared Audrey back hard into her seat. They remained silent for the rest of the trip, letting the music on the radio fill up the coldness between them.

The girls soon pulled into the school's parking lot at 7:26. Katie switched off the ignition and speedily exited the car, slamming her door. She threw the keys to her sister and then attempted to run into school in her flip-flops.

Audrey casually strolled to the door and chuckled sympathetically at her twin.

"What a kiss ass." She told herself. Audrey was by no means a rebel, but had a much more casual, carefree approach to life that contrasted her sister's. To Katie, everything was a big deal. She always had to please their parents, teachers and coaches. Audrey liked to please them also, but didn't go out of her way to do so.

Audrey made her way down the hall to her first class of the day, precalculus (on time!), something she knew she'd never use after high school. But she had to take it to get that damn, coveted Academic Honors Diploma.

Audrey and Katie Lyman had two classes together this year: AP English third period and AP government sixth. During both classes, Audrey studied her sister carefully. She couldn't seem to sit still. She was either nervously tapping her pencil on her notebook (a sound that soon came very annoying) or moving her heel up and down. Finally, when Mrs. Taylor had her back turned in sixth period, Audrey quickly snatched the pencil from Katie's hand, causing her to receive an evil glare from her sister. They exchanged a series of looks between themselves, the "evil twin facial communication" as their father called it. When Audrey felt she'd conveyed her message of "Get a grip", which was replied by "Fuck off", she tossed Katie's pencil on to her desk. Galen Morris, who sat behind Katie and held a certain fascination in Audrey, observed the whole thing. He was in several honors classes with both girls, and was a member of the soccer team and yearbook committee. Plus, he was a smart cookie, ranked second in their class. Katie and Audrey weren't far behind, ranked fourth and seventh respectively. His gorgeous blue eyes were a favorite topic of discussion for many of the girls in school. He smirked but then returned his attention to the lesson.

After the bell rang, Katie started in on her sister when they reached the hallway. Galen stood back but wanted to talk to Audrey.

"What the hell is your problem?" Katie demanded.

"What's MY problem?" she dismissed. "What the hell is up with you? You couldn't sit still in English or government." She looked around for a moment to make sure no one was listening and leaned in. "Are you on crack or something?" She asked, half-jokingly but somewhat seriously. She'd never seen her sister act like this.

Katie was insulted and it showed in her face. "How dare you imply that I am on crack!" She spoke a little louder than she'd intended. "Freakin' bitch." She took a low blow and quickly turned and walked away. If only their mom knew what a sailor's mouth her sister had, Audrey thought, her mouth would be sparkly clean with soap.

Galen approached Audrey now that her sister was gone.

"Everything okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

Audrey looked down the hall at her sister walking to her last class of the day. Seeing she was well on her way, she turned her attention back to the handsome young thing standing beside her. She suddenly wished she had the self-discipline her sister had in the morning to make herself a little more attractive. But she was not a morning person.

"Yeah. She's just been acting a little weird lately. Well, weird for her."

"I see." He chuckled. They started walking in the other direction, where they each had their final class. "Well, Audrey, we really miss you in yearbook. You have quite the eye for layout."

Audrey smiled, excited that she was missed. It had been a little over a week since her father had forced her to quit both yearbook and swimming because of her English grade.

"Really? I miss it too. My dad said I could rejoin once I bought my grade back up, but I don't know if Mrs. Anders will let me."

"Are you kidding?" he exclaimed. "She's going crazy without you. She's got Ed Groves working layout. He sucks."

"Special Ed?" she called her classmate by his given nickname. "Is she crazy? Man, I'll really have to think about it." She said, heeding the advice of her _Cosmogirl_ magazine, trying to keep him on a leash.

"Do." He urged her. There was an awkward moment of silence. "So, how's that English grade coming anyway?"

"I have a B+ right now after doing a little extra credit. I'm working on rewriting my Hamlet essay."

"Oh yeah? I could help you out if you want." He eagerly suggested. "Unless, you know, if your sister's helping you." He didn't want to tread on twin territory.

Audrey laughed. "Oh God no. My parents would have a hissy fit."

"Okay, well I could call sometime. Are you in the white pages?"

"Uh, no. My parents sometimes get hate calls." She explained. She reached back and pulled a tiny notebook from the front pocket of her backpack. Audrey wrote down her number on a piece of paper, tore it off and gave it to Galen.

"There you go." She said smiling. "Call any time."

"Okay. Talk to you later." He smiled back. They'd stopped in front of Audrey's classroom so she turned and disappeared inside. When she knew he was gone, she clenched her fists up near her chin and moved them up and down quickly, closing her eyes and smiling in victory.

Katie and Audrey both had cross-country practice after school until 5:00. Audrey couldn't help but notice that Katie wasn't up to snuff. Usually competitive with one another, she lagged behind during their 5-mile run, finishing significantly behind her sister. She was visibly upset by her performance, but Audrey let it go. Katie had all but bitten her head off when she'd confronted her about her many nervous behaviors throughout the day. After practice, Katie got her things together as quickly as possible and Audrey followed suit, seeing that her sister just wanted to go home.

They arrived home after a silent ride from Fairfax. Katie had sat in the passenger seat with her knees pulled to her chest. When they got home, their dad was already there. Donna and Josh tried to work their schedules out so one parent got home around 5:00. It wasn't such a big deal now that the girls were older, but Josh and Donna still liked to make sure at least one of them was around for them after school. The other usually got a ride with a friend from the neighborhood. Lately it had been Josh getting home first. Donna said it was because he was slacking. It was his job again to get dinner started. He picked pizza, something he couldn't easily screw up.

As the two girls walked in still dressed in their running gear he could immediately tell a difference in their body language. Audrey stood tall and walked confidently into the kitchen with a smug grin on her face. Katie, his usual ray of sunshine, had her arms crossed and studied the floor. She looked almost defeated.

"Hey girls." He greeted them from behind the breakfast bar as they both deposited their overloaded backpacks onto the floor. "How you doing?"

"Pretty good." Audrey replied, replaying her encounter with Galen Morris in her head. Katie didn't say anything and avoided eye contact.

"Mostly pretty?" Josh asked as he winked at the only twin looking at him. Audrey rolled her eyes theatrically, but no response from Kaitlyn.

"Dad, that's getting old." She told him. He often replied with that line from the time they were old enough to reply to the question. Secretly, she still liked hearing it and he knew it.

"You okay, Katie?" he tilted his head quizzically to the side, his hands in the pockets of the sweatpants he'd changed into after work.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She spoke quietly, looking down and squeezed her tired eyes shut for a moment. He, of course, knew she was lying but could tell she was in no mood to sit and explain the problem to him at the moment. Her problems, he knew, were a little more complicated now than they were when she was nine and he could solve them in 10 minutes. She'd always come to him when she was ready and he trusted she would again now. "I'm gonna go take a shower before dinner." She told him.

"Okay, baby." He studied her closely as she walked away. His thoughts were soon interrupted by Audrey.

"How the hell are you?"

He shook his head, snapping himself back to reality. "What? Watch the language. What's up with your sister?"

She sat down on one of the stools, as if she were already tired just from that one question. "Psh-I don't know. She's been actin' weird the last couple of days, especially today."

"Why do you suppose that is?" he tried to dig up some dirt.

"Dad, I honestly don't know!" she said truthfully. "She's a real piece of work, you know. A masterpiece you've created. Somewhat of an odd Picasso." She played around.

"And why are you in such a good mood?" he probed. She hadn't exactly been sweetness and light all week. She's been pretty pissed about being grounded, keeping to herself and walking around with her headphones blaring whatever angsty angry teen rap kids listened to these days.

"No reason." She wasn't sure how he'd react to her Galen news. Her mom was the one she normally talked to about that stuff anyway. Donna would get all bubbly and excited just like her daughters when she heard of their romantic interests. Plus, she needed to convince him to let her participate in the school's upcoming talent show so her friends wouldn't hate her forever. He couldn't take two things at once. "Red Baron deep crust pepperoni pizza? Kick ass!"

Josh gave his daughter a suspicious look.

"You're up to something. I don't know what, but you are."

She smiled at him over-angelically.

"Spit it out now, Audrey Elizabeth." He ordered her, taking a sip from the water bottle he'd been holding.

She sighed. She might as well try now – it was as good of a time as ever.

"Well, daddy…"

There was his first clue. She wanted something. She never called him that unless she needed a favor.

"No." he cut her off immediately.

"You're not even gonna hear me out?"

"I'm not un-grounding you if that's what you want."

"Will you let me ask my question?" She whined, flashing her sparkly brown eyes at him.

"Fine, but it's still gonna be 'no'." he said, convinced that he wasn't going to let his daughter manipulate him.

"Daddy, there's gonna be a talent show at school and me and Ella, Bailey and Lana want to do a dance for it and tryouts are next week and we have to rehearse and I can't if I'm grounded and I've been really good and I've brought my English grade up to a B+ and they'll hate me forever if I don't." she rambled all in one breath, looking at him hopefully.

"A talent show?" he asked. "Why the hell would you want to be in a talent show?"

"Because I'm talented." She said "And I'm special and you love me very much?" She gave him a toothy, insincere grin.

He smiled, moderately impressed by her attempt. "Nice try, baby doll, but I'm not backing down."

"WHY NOT!" she said a little too loud.

"Hey, check your voice." He started. "The deal was you can get back to your activities when your English grade went back up to an 'A'."

"Deal?" she questioned in a chastising tone. "What deal? I don't remember agreeing to anything. I just remember you deciding."

"That's because I'm the parent."

"And a lousy one at that." She snapped. There was the flare. The Audrey-flare, as they called it when it was funny, unlike right now.

"Audrey, I think you need to go to your room and cool down." Josh said as calmly as he could, motioning with his finger.

"Typical, dad. Run and hide when you can't defend yourself." She threw back at him as she stormed off. He heard her door slam. Audrey always had to have the last word. That was typical of their relationship nowadays, he thought to himself. They started off in a great, playful conversation and ended with her mouthing off and him seething mad. When did he ever run and hide? He'd seen himself on C-SPAN and thought he rocked. He put his hands on his head and looked up to the ceiling, letting out a groan. He just wanted Donna to get home so he could hold her and everything would be all right. And what the hell was up with Katie?

Josh was left by himself in the kitchen with Audrey furious at him and Katie in her own world. Real smooth, Josh, he thought to himself. He was a member of Congress, for crying out loud. He told people what to do all day and figured out international crises and he couldn't even figure out his own daughters. Then Donna walked in and everything was instantly better. She still had the same effect on him she'd had the day she hired herself.

"Hi, baby." He walked quickly over to her, his guide, relieved to see her. She hadn't even had time to take her jacket off when Josh put his right hand on her left cheek, directing her face to his and tenderly kissed her. But there was urgency and despair in his kiss too. After a few seconds, he broke the kiss and rested his hands on her hips and his forehead on hers.

"Hey, Josh." She put her hands on his face. "Everything okay?" she searched his eyes, knowing he must have had a rough day. He always had when he kissed her like that.

"No, but they're looking much better now that you're here." He confessed. She smiled at him and he grinned back, showing his famous dimples.

"Let me guess…one of the girls?"

She knew him well. After so many years in politics, hardly anything bothered him too much or puzzled him, except for Audrey and Kaitlyn.

"Both." He told her.

"Jackpot!" she lightly slapped his face with both hands. "What a way to start the week." She dropped her hands down and laced her fingers with his, bringing them up to shoulder level. "Maybe this will help a little." She started kissing him again, still holding his face in her hands. Her soft, gentle lips worked their magic against his, rejuvenating his spirit. If only all the world's problems were solved this easily. She finally broke the kiss off again and they stood with their foreheads pressed together as he ran his hands up and down her arms.

"What's wrong with them now?" she asked.

"I don't know what's up with Katie. She looked really upset, but not like she ever has before. Something's going on. Audrey's mad at me again because I won't un-ground her to practice for a talent show next week with the three stooges. I'm the popular one, once again."

"What's her grade in english?"

"'B+'. She's getting there. But not quite yet."

"Hmmm. She'll just have to work her toosh off, won't she?"

"Mmmhmmm." He agreed, leaning in for another kiss. His kiss was a little more forceful this time, and he quickly moved his lips to her cheek, then her ear, then her neck…"

"Josh, stop." Donna told him. "Not tonight." Josh stamped his foot.

"Why not?" He whined in his charming way, his eyes disappointed. God, he was hard to resist, she had to admit. It just didn't seem right with both of her daughters upset.

"I need to go be a mother first." She released herself from his embrace and started walking towards the oven to put the pizza in.

Josh let out an annoyed groan. "You wouldn't be a mom if it weren't for that!"

"Oh, you're the answer to my prayers, Josh. Thank you, eternally." She mocked him. He was such a wuss.

Donna was able to coax Katie out of her room after her shower to have dinner with her parents, but Audrey wasn't having it. She took two slices of pizza back to her room and stayed there most of the night. Normally, Josh and Donna wouldn't allow this because it was a sign of disrespect, but neither of them felt like arguing with Audrey so early on in the week. Katie still looked exhausted even after her shower. She ate her one piece of pizza with her head in her left hand, rested on the table and chewed apathetically. Her answers were all one-syllable.

"Did you have a rough day, sweetie?" Donna asked her daughter part way through the meal.

"Yeah." She replied, not even looking at her mother.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Are you on your period?"

Josh nearly dropped his pizza. As the lone man in a houseful of girls, he'd heard many things over the years he didn't care to hear, counting that right there.

"NO!" She answered, annoyed.

"Sorry." She apologized. "Sometimes you get tired."

"I just had a rough day." She clarified again. Donna saw tears swimming in her eyes. "I need to get to my homework." She got up before her mother could ask any more questions.

"Okay, sweetheart. I'm here if you need me."

"Yeah." She put her plate in the dishwasher.

Josh waited until she'd disappeared into her room.

"See what I mean?" He asked her, wiping his hands with a napkin. "She's never like that."

"She's got me stumped." Donna agreed "But I think she'll talk when she's ready."

"She was about to cry." Josh pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. Let's just give her some space."

"So that means we'll be all by ourselves." Josh raised an eyebrow and put his hand on his wife's suggestively.

Donna slapped it off.

"Joshua Lyman! I said not tonight. Now leave it alone."

"You're so sexy when you're angry." He seduced.

"Oh my God." Donna laughed as she got up.

"Just call me if you change your mind, sweetheart. I'll be in the study." He called from the table.

"Have fun."

Josh got up from his desk in the study at about 11:30 p.m. after working on a report late into the night. After he'd turned the light off, he made his way into the kitchen to get a glass of water for bed when he saw a light coming from Katie's bedroom. Sometimes the girls stayed up pretty late to do homework, but he didn't think it was a good idea for Katie to do so when she was feeling so lousy, so he decided to go tell her to give it up for the night. Her door was slightly ajar, so he knocked gently and peeked his head in.

"Katie-bell?" He gently called, not wanting to awake Audrey in the next room, which was dark. When he heard no answer, he slowly pushed the door open. "What are you doing still up?" He asked.

What he saw when he opened the door was an exhausted Katie sleeping on the floor amongst several different textbooks and notebooks. He walked over to where his daughter was laying and kneeled down next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Katie, honey?" He shook her lightly. When he got no response again, he knew she was out like a light. He'd have to pick her up. She was pretty thin, but she sure wasn't a feather. Josh picked her up as gently as possible, not wanting to wake her up and carried her the five feet to her bed. He pulled back the covers and gently set her down. Apparently, he wasn't gentle enough as she jarred awake as her body touched the mattress.

"Wh…what…" She worded, terrified, jolting herself to a sitting position. She looked around frantically and finally found her father's face. "Daddy?" Her eyes bore into him as if she'd never seen him before in her life.

"Shhh….sshhhh." He silenced her "It's just me. It's daddy." He could see she was terrified and it was ripping his heart out.

Then she started breathing deeply and began to cry. She coughed nervously to try to hide her obvious lack of self-control. Josh instinctively took one of her hands in his.

"Katie, just calm down. Take some deep breaths."

She nodded and tried to do so unsuccessfully. Josh was studying her closely, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. He'd never seen his daughter so out of it in his life.

"Here, why don't you lie down, okay sweetheart? And I'll sit with you."

She nodded again and sniffled as he helped her. Josh pulled the covers over her quivering body and moved himself up to sit closer. He held her left hand in his left like they were going to thumb wrestle. She gripped it like she was holding on for dear life.

"There we go. Now just relax and take some deep breaths." He reiterated. He reached over with his right hand and felt her forehead. She was sweating but her forehead felt cold. After a few minutes, Katie's breathing was finally slowing down and she'd stopped crying.

"Sweetheart, please tell me what's wrong." He begged her. He'd sell his soul right then to take away whataever was causing her pain. Katie stared back at him but didn't answer.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She whispered, needing him as if she were five years old.

"Of course I will." He patted her hand with his free one.

With that, she closed her eyes, just comforted by his presence. He watched her for a few more minutes as she slowly drifted off into a much-needed sleep. As he sat there, a thousand things ran through his head.

_What the hell is going on? Is she on drugs? Is she pregnant? Why is she so out of it? Does she think we don't love her? Did someone break her heart? Is this about college? Why won't she talk to me?_

The last question kept replaying over and over in his head. He and Katie had always had a very special relationship. He knew just how special it was because he didn't have it with Audrey. Katie was a daddy's girl – she always told him everything. He was her personal human jungle gym as a little girl. She came to him with every cut and bruise, every problem at school. Everything. Why wasn't she letting him help her now? With a heavy, confused heart, he carefully released her hand from his. He got up and kissed her on the forehead and gently wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. As he reached her door, he turned around and looked at her one last time as he turned the light off and gently closed the door.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Kaitlyn Marie Lyman slowly opened her eyes after what seemed to be a good night's sleep. In her mind, however, she replayed the incident that occurred last night when her father put her to bed. He was probably pretty spooked, she thought to herself. He probably thought she was a freak. She sighed loudly and shut her eyes again. She couldn't have gotten any more than six good hours of sleep last night, so why was she feeling so refreshed? Then she noticed that it was light in her bedroom. Spring was on its way, but still it shouldn't be this light out at 6:00 a.m. She looked at her alarm clock – it read 9:30. 9:30! Shit, she'd slept in! She quickly got out of bed and rushed into the next room to wake her sister Audrey.

"Audrey! We slept in!" she called as she reached her twin sister's door. All she found was a disastrous-looking room with no Audrey sleeping in the un-made bed. She turned around, confused, and then saw her mother standing in the hallway.

"I see you're awake." She started. She was holding a cup of coffee in her hand. "I was about to come wake you up. Sorry if you were startled. Here, take this." Donna handed her daughter a fresh cup of coffee that she'd just made.

"It's Tuesday, isn't it?" Katie asked, confused that she wasn't at school.

"Your father thought it would be best if you took the day off school after what happened last night. From what I heard, I think he was right." She put her arm around Katie and started walking her back to her bedroom.

"Oh, uh, I…" She stammered.

"It's okay, Katie. You don't have to explain. Not right now anyway. But when you feel like talking, we're both here for you." Josh had woken Donna up late last night to tell her about what had happened with Katie. She'd never seen him so worried or beat up about anything since she'd known him (well, maybe a few republicans). He was so upset that Katie wouldn't let him help her. Josh had held Donna tightly all through the night, clinging to her like a frightened child.

"I know, mom." They entered her room and Katie sat back down on her bed. "Don't you have to work?"

"Yes. I canceled all my morning appointments, but I really have to get in. I wanted to make sure you were okay before I left." Donna put her hand on her daughter's forehead and felt that her temperature was normal.

"Yes, mom, I'm fine." She tried to reassure her mother, grabbing the hand that was still on her head.

"Listen, Katie. Whatever it is you're going through, you'll get through it. And dad and I are here to help you. Now, promise me that you'll ask us if you need help."

Katie closed her eyes. "I promise." She lied.

Donna put her hand on Katie's left cheek. "Okay. Now I want you in bed or on the couch all day. No doing homework. You just relax."

"Okay, mom." She lied again.

"All right, I've got to get going. America needs me. Do not hesitate to call your father or me. He'll probably call anyway around lunchtime to check up on you."

"Go ahead. I'll see you later." She bid her mother.

"Bye, sweetheart." Donna got up and kissed her daughter on the head. She went for the door and turned around and winked at her. Katie heard her mother's high heels on the hardwood floor for about a minute or so as she gathered up her things. Finally, she heard the door to the garage close. Silence.

Katie had no intention of staying in bed all day. If she was going to have to miss school (which she hated because make-up work was a pain in the ass) she was going to work through the day. She quickly got up and threw on some black lounge pants and a gray hooded sweater and put her brown curly hair up with a clip.

Then she went for her secret weapon. Her head and her whole body ached from withdrawal. She was sick of being so tired and really needed to get her work done, so she reluctantly opened her jewelry box. Katie reached down to the very bottom and pulled out a plastic bag full of little white pills…Ritalin. Her best friend Ally had given them to her after she'd complained she couldn't stay up late enough to get all her studying done, paying her the $20 her mom gave her for lunch money each week. They'd worked like a charm. Katie had had so much energy that her schoolwork had been improving as well as her athletic performance (she was actually outrunning her sister in cross country). The added pressure of midterms had a lot to do with her decision also. Lately, she'd started to feel a little guilty. She knew it was wrong to take Ritalin without a prescription. Everything she'd learned at school and that her parents had taught her all told her it was wrong, but it felt so right to her body. Still, the guilt overwhelmed her and she'd had many sleepless nights because of both her conscience and the Ritalin. So she quit. Well, she tried to quit and it wasn't going too well. The pain that was going through her body was almost unbearable. She felt nervous all the time and was extra jittery and irritable. Her friends and family had even started to notice. She couldn't let them know she'd stooped so low as to take drugs to study. She'd have to start using them again to get them off her back. Katie would try to quit later, but not now. She needed to keep going.

She reluctantly popped a pill into her mouth and washed it down with the coffee her mother had brought her. Now she could get down to business. Katie laid down for a little while longer until her headache started to go away and then cracked the books. First english, then government, then precalculus…

Katie had worked through the most of the morning when her dad called at about noon.

"Hello?" She answered, knowing it was probably him.

"Hi Katie-bell!" His voice sang over the phone. "You're sounding better. Are you feeling okay now?"

She smiled, part of her act, forgetting that he couldn't see her over the phone. "Yeah, dad. I'm feeling much better. I got a good night's sleep."

"I hope you're not too mad that I made you stay home from school. I know you hate to miss and everything."

"I'll try to forgive you."

"Would Taco Bell help you get into a more forgiving mood?" He asked her hopefully. Taco Bell was like catnip to Katie.

"It might." She smiled.

"Well good. I'll pick you up some on my way home. I'll try to get back a little earlier than usual, around 4 or so. So make sure you have all the boys gone by then." He teased.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Okay, dad. See ya then."

"Okay, bye pumpkin." He hung up the phone, feeling better having talked to her. She'd scared the crap out of him the previous night and it was great to hear the pep back in her voice.

Katie breathed out, her conscience stabbing at her. Her dad had so much faith in her. What would he think if he found out his daughter was an addict? It would break his heart. Pushing her thoughts aside, she returned to her precalculus work. Yippee.

One of the great things about going to a private school was the fact that they were pretty up-to-date on technology. Katie logged onto the Internet and checked all her new assignments for the next day her teachers had posted, which was a school requirement. Katie was a sharp girl, so she could teach herself most of the new math, and her parents could help her out with her government homework if she needed it. She was feeling pretty good about getting a jump start on things.

Josh arrived home at about 4:15 with a chalupa and two fajitas (or "fajeetas" as he pronounced them jokingly).

"Hey, baby doll!" He said cheerily as he brought the food into her room. Katie had been prepared and had packed up all her schoolwork and hopped back into bed at about 4:00 so it would look like she'd been resting all day. "How's my ray of sunshine?" He sat down on her bed and kissed her on the cheek.

"Just fine."

"I brought you a little somethin' somethin'" he said with a funny voice as he pulled the food out of the bag. "One chalupa and two fajitas fresh from Me-hi-co."

Katie forced a grin at her father's failed attempt at humor. "Thanks, dad. I'm starving!" She took the food from him and quickly unwrapped the chalupa and began devouring it right there in bed.

"Well, you sure have your appetite back." Josh commented. Katie was known by her friends and family for being a pig. He paused for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem fine now, but you were pretty out of it last night." He recalled the episode in his mind and quickly pushed it back.

"Yeah, it was just something stupid. Don't worry about it." She tried to dismiss the incident.

"Okay." He said, not totally believing her "But if you need to talk…."

Katie was tired of hearing that. It made her feel even guiltier. "I know dad." She cut him off. "You and mom are here."

"Couldn't have said it better." He patted her knee.

Just then, Katie let out a huge belch.

"Kaitlyn Marie Lyman!" Josh said, shocked.

"My compliments to the chef."

"That is no way for a young lady to act."

Katie gave him a toothy grin and shrugged innocently, tilting her head to the side.

"You're gross. I'm gonna go start dinner for the well-mannered members of this family." He smiled and laughed softly to himself.

"What a treat for them."

"Damn right." Josh agreed and he left the room.

Katie had a few more minutes of peace and secretly did a chemistry assignment on her lap, not knowing if anyone would walk in on her. It was kind of weird, hiding the fact she was doing her homework. She'd never done that before.

Soon, she was interrupted by Audrey returning home after cross-country practice, looking pretty tired. She poked her head into Katie's room.

"Hey, beezotch." She greeted her sister.

"'Sup, ho-bag." Katie said back.

"Not much. English was a sleeper." She leaned against the wall and examined her fingernails.

"I'll bet."

"Well, except for Galen Morris. He's so hot. Sometimes I just feel like jumping on him right in the middle of class."

"Please refrain from doing that." Katie was one of the few girls who didn't find Galen Morris attractive.

"I must show self-restraint, mustn't I?" She admitted. "Did you get all your assignments from the Internet?"

"Yeah. I was working on them earlier, but don't tell mom and dad. They told me to sleep."

"I won't if you tell me what's bugging you." She tried to blackmail her sister.

Katie threw her head back in annoyance. "Oh please! I don't need you on my case too."

"I'm just kidding, jeez."

"It's nothing. You guys are blowing this all way out of proportion."

"Fine, whatever." She shifted her stance, seeing she wasn't getting anywhere. "You know where my door is." Despite all their quarrels and competitiveness, Katie and Audrey still held a special bond as twins and looked out for one another. Audrey knew it wasn't 'nothing' but let it go again, leaving the room.

Audrey was decidedly in a good mood that day. Well, she hadn't bitten anyone's head off or mouthed off to her parents yet. That was good enough for them. Audrey, after all, was just full of surprises. Last year when she'd been angry with her parents, she joined the Young Republicans for a week just to spite them. That pissed them off. Audrey was actually hanging out in the living room watching a little TV, rarity in the busy household. She settled on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."

Josh was watching with her and let out an annoyed sigh when she flipped the channel.

"Do we have to watch this?"

"Why, does it make you uncomfortable, dad?"

"No. It's just so…"

"What?"  
"Queer." He couldn't think of anything better to say.

"That's not a valid excuse, Senator."

Josh muttered something under his breath that Audrey couldn't hear. He always got overruled on television in a household of three females. Whenever he did get to watch something he liked, such as sports, it was ruined because they'd always make comments about the player's butts, the size of their muscles, or the color scheme of their uniforms and how well it worked with their skin tones.

Just then, the phone rang. Audrey jolted upright from the couch, but Josh was sitting right next to the phone.

"I've got it." He told her. "Hello, Lyman residence."

"Uh…hello?" A male voice said on the other end.

"Yes…"

"Uh, is Audrey there?" He asked, nervously.

"Who's asking?" Josh said protectively. Why would a male be wanting to speak with his daughter?

"Galen Morris."

"Galen?" Josh looked over at his daughter, who was drumming her fingers together in excitement. Josh gestured at the phone with a confused look on his face, asking, and 'You know this idiot?' Audrey signaled with her hands to turn the phone over.

"Daaaad!" She whined. "Don't embarrass me. This is a very important boy."

Josh raised his eyebrows and made a disgusted face as he passed the phone to his giddy daughter.

"Hi Galen!" She greeted cheerily. "Sorry about my dad. He's a bit of a freak. I mean, you've seen him."

Josh opened his mouth in shock. What the hell did she mean by that?

Audrey giggled into the phone at something Galen had said that was apparently funny, but Josh doubted it was.

"No, really? Get out! GET OUT! Are you serious? Omigod." Josh rolled his eyes at his daughter's apparent instant lack of an IQ while on the phone with a boy. "No, I'm not busy tomorrow. That would be great."

There was a pause as the boy spoke.

"Okay, well why don't you come around at about 7:00 tomorrow? Okay, great. See you tomorrow at school. Kay. Bye." She hung up the phone and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"What was that?" He asked Audrey.

"What was what?"

"That horrible display you just put on."

Audrey smiled. "What?"

"You know a boy?" This was inconceivable to Josh. Audrey rolled her eyes. He knew this day would come. The day a boy called the house asking for one of his daughters. But it didn't make it any easier.

"Yes, dad. I do go to a co-ed school."

"You're getting transferred. Tomorrow."

"Oh, dad. Stop it."

"Why was he calling this late on a school night?"

"Dad, it's 8:30."

"It sounded as if you were making plans, and as I recall, you're still grounded." He reminded her.

"He's coming over to help me rewrite my Hamlet essay."

"He can't come over."

"Why not? It's for school. Schoolwork is not included in being grounded. You said so yourself."

Josh mentally kicked himself. "I did say that, didn't I?"

Audrey merely nodded with a slight grin on her face, knowing she had won.

"I only meant you could study with other girls."

Audrey theatrically smiled again as she went to sit by her troubled father.

"It's okay, dad, he's just a boy." She gave him a hug.

"Just a boy?" He began "I was a boy once and I know how they think."

"They're not all as bad as you." Audrey had heard of her father's famous romancing as a young man, switching from girlfriend to girlfriend. He realized now later in life what a father's nightmare he must have been.

"He thinks I'm se-e-e-e-xy. He wants to da-a-a-a-te me." She said in her best Miss Congeniality impression.

"Please stop." He asked her.

"Okay." She stopped "I'll be in my room dreaming about Galen."

"Don't hurt yourself. Why don't you clean up a little while you're in there." Audrey ruffled his hair, a rare sign of affection she gave and danced back to her room humming a little tune.

Donna arrived home a little later that night having missed a few hours in the morning. Both Josh and Donna watched Katie closely the whole evening. They were a little puzzled at her sudden change in mood. She had been so upset the day before. How could all that just go away? It just didn't seem to add up. They tried to hide their skepticism and enjoy their daughter in her bubbly, energetic mood, but in the back of their minds they wondered about her.

"Katie seems much better." Donna commented as the couple climbed into bed that night.

"Yeah, she seems to have her energy back." Josh agreed. They laid down in the bed with Josh on his back and Donna on her stomach, one arm wrapped around her husband. "I don't know. I just seems so weird she could go from so low to so high."

"That's what I was thinking."

"Has she been talking to any boys?"

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"I don't know. You should've seen Audrey earlier. Some kid named Pint or Quart called for her."

"You mean Galen Morris?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Galen Morris. She was so excited. It freaked me out."

"Oh, Josh, you're so over-protective."

"Damn right. If he hurts her I'll hunt him down, rip his arm off and shove it down his throat."

"You don't have to be so graphic."

"That's what I'll do." He said, matter-of-factly.

"Okay, sweetheart." Donna dismissed his comments and patted his stomach. "Good night."

"You in the mood?" Josh asked hopefully. She'd patted him on the stomach. That could mean something.

"No."

"Damn."

"Goodnight."

Josh sighed, disappointed, and they both drifted off to sleep.

Wednesday evening came, but not soon enough for Audrey. She'd been giddy all day at the thought of Galen Morris coming to her house, even if it was for school. If she was lucky, her dad would stay away and she could maybe coax a kiss or two out of that fine piece of work. She dreamed about the thought of his lips on hers all day long and tried her best to hide it during government class sixth period.

Audrey unfortunately had cross-country practice again after school on Wednesday, so she'd had to rush home to take a shower and get ready for her study date. Luckily, her mother was the one to get home earlier that day so she didn't have to listen to her dad go on about why she was getting spruced up for a study date. She could hear him.

"Why the hell are you putting on perfume when you're studying Hamlet? You can bet your ass I'll be checking on you regularly." And other assorted phrases.

Her mother was much more helpful to her because she understood what was going on. Galen Morris was coming to see her. Donna helped her daughter straighten and then curl her hair, picked out an outfit, and did her makeup.

"You won't let dad ruin my date, will you?" Audrey asked, worried, as her mother put some eye makeup on her. She sat on the lid of the toilet and her mother sat on a stool in front of her in the girls' vanity center.

"No, of course not. I'll make him stay away." She reassured her daughter. She knew how over-protective Josh was and already had a plan. Donna would let Josh watch whatever he wanted on the TV in the living room with absolutely no commentary from her as long as he promised to stay away from his daughter and her date. If that didn't work, coaxing him with sex was always an alternative.

"But the rules are that you have to keep your bedroom door open at all times. I don't want any hanky-panky going on, you understand? Your father would have a fit and he wouldn't let you date until you're 30." She finished applying the eyeshadow and blew lightly on Audrey's eyelids.

"Okay." She moaned, opening her eyes. The way her room was angled, she was pretty sure she could still sneak in a few kisses with her dream boy.

Just then, Josh arrived home. It was about 6:30, only half an hour until Audrey's "study session". He heard his wife and daughter in the vanity center with music playing in the background and poked his head in.

"Hey, gorgeous. Hey pumpkin." He greeted them. Josh took a look around the vanity center. It amazed him how much crap his girls had accumulated over a mere sixteen years. Dozens and dozens of lotions, curlers, perfumes, make up, nail polish and hair accessories were sprawled around the center or stuffed into drawers. It reeked of several different kinds of lotions.

"Josh." Donna greeted.

"Dad."

"Getting ready for your study session?"

"Yep." Audrey didn't want to get into too much detail. She knew her father thought this was a little over-the-top for a study date, but he didn't understand what was going on and she didn't expect him to.

"Honey, we already ate dinner because we didn't know how late you'd be. There's leftovers in the fridge."

"What was it?"

"Tuna casserole."

Josh made a disgusted face and Donna caught him in the mirror.

"Joshua Lyman, don't you dare make that face at me! At least I made something besides pizza or spaghetti."

"I didn't say anything, dear." Josh contended.

"And I suggest you don't."

Audrey smiled a little at her mother's reprimand of her father. Josh saw that too.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing. You never seize to amaze me with your way with the ladies, dad." She joked.

"I can't help it. I'm a natural." Audrey stood up and turned around to look at herself in the mirror and Josh got a good look at the outfit she was wearing: low-cut jeans and a dark red sparkly sleeveless shirt that showed a bit too much cleavage.

"Where the hell did you get those jeans and that shirt?" He complained. "Donna?" he looked at his wife questioningly.

"Josh, don't." Donna warned him.

"No. You're not wearing that out of this house. Do you see how low those jeans are, Donna?"

"I'm not wearing them out of this house, dad." Audrey replied coolly. "I'll be here the whole time."

"That's not what I meant."

"Josh, it's fine. Just leave it." Donna walked over to him and put a finger over his lips. "Go." She said, pushing him out the door and closing it behind her. She had to smile to herself at the look on Josh's face. Yes, Josh, your daughter is growing up. Deal with it.

"He'll be fine." Donna reassured her daughter, who was looking a little worried. "I have a plan."

"Good. Please make sure he stays away." She began to apply mascara to her eyes.

"I will, honey, don't worry. I'll go talk to him now. Just stay in here."

Josh was visibly upset when Donna joined him in the kitchen. He'd been pacing. When he saw Donna, he started in on her.

"Did you see what she's wearing? She can't wear that! Make her change!" He gestured angrily.

"Josh. She is fine." She walked over to where he was standing by the kitchen counter and leaned against it with one hand on her hip. "Don't ruin this for her."

"I'm not gonna ruin it for her, Donna. I just don't want her to get hurt."

Donna remembered again why she married him. He was so sensitive and caring. She loved watching his relationship with his daughter develop over the years. As children, he was a hands-on dad, participating in each and every part of the child-rearing. Josh was perhaps the most attached, over-protective father she'd ever seen. It was so adorable. As the girls grew older, his relationship had somewhat dwindled with Audrey, but she still had a special place for him. If anything, he'd grown closer to Katie over the years. He'd do anything for either of them. The last thing he'd want for either of them was to get hurt and he was determined not to let it happen. But he couldn't shield them forever.

Donna took a step forward and took her husband's face in her hands and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Joshua Lyman. You are the most wonderful father in the world to those girls. We have taught them well and they will handle themselves accordingly. We can trust Audrey. You just need to relax."

Josh stared back into his wife's eyes. He knew she was right, but it was still so hard. He nodded slightly, agreeing. Donna could see she had gotten her point across and then leaned in to kiss him. He kissed her back deeply, needing to feel wanted. Donna broke off the kiss after what must have been a couple of minutes (she often lost track of time when she kissed him) and looked at her husband seriously again.

"If you're good, I just may be in the mood tonight." She coaxed him.

"Really." He raised his eyebrows and ran his hands up and down her arms. Donna nodded, knowing she'd taken care of the problem.

"Sweet." He chimed. Donna laughed and hit Josh playfully on the shoulder.

At 7:00 sharp, Galen Morris promptly arrived at the Lymans' front door. Josh agreed to let Audrey open the door so he wouldn't scare the hell out of her date. Galen was dressed in a pair of khaki pants and an over-sized plaid shirt, which was untucked. Yeah, he looked like trouble.

"Thanks so much for coming!" Josh and Donna heard their daughter greet Galen from the front door. "You look nice."

Josh rolled his eyes and Donna poked him in the rib with her elbow.

"So do you."

The two teens then walked into the living room where Josh and Donna were waiting, standing off to one corner, waiting to be introduced. This was another part of the agreement. Audrey walked over to them, beaming.

"Galen, this is my father, Josh Lyman, and my mother, Donna."

Galen reached out his right hand and shook hands with both parents, smiling pleasantly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. You have a wonderful daughter."

Kiss-ass, Josh thought to himself. Damn right, she's wonderful. And she's just fine without you. He did have a rather firm handshake, though.

"Thankyou." Donna said politely. She'd told Josh not to say anything in fear that he might say something really stupid and embarrass Audrey. "So, Audrey tells us you're a junior also?"

"Yes, ma'am. I have a couple classes with Audrey and I was also on the yearbook committee with her. We miss her a lot, so that's why I'm here. To get that English grade back up." He was saying all the right things, and it was killing Josh. He was just waiting for a reason to hate this guy.

"Oh, that's very nice of you to offer. I know Audrey appreciates it very much."

"Anything I can do to help." He said, looking at Audrey. She smiled back and him and then they both turned their attention back to her parents. "So, Mr. Lyman, I've been following that environmental bill that's coming through the Senate."

That caught Josh off-guard. "Oh, really?" He'd just love to talk politics with this prick and show him up. He better be a democrat.

"Yeah. I have to say, I'm really loving what I see on C-SPAN. You've got some really good points. Those republicans better pass it if they know what's good for them. Are Lewis and Stevens backing down at all?"

Damn. He really knows his stuff. And he's a democrat. He was starting to kind of like the kid. Well, let's not go that far.

"Yeah, well, we're still working on them. We've gotta get a few more votes by next Wednesday."

"Well, good luck with that, sir."

Wow. He even called him sir. He called Donna ma'am. Awesome.

"Thanks."

Audrey was feeling uncomfortable and wanted to get out of the situation as quickly as possible. At least her father seemed moderately impressed by her date. But they needed to leave before Josh said anything to mortify her.

Galen looked to his right and saw Josh's recliner, "The Chair".

"Oh, man, this is nice." He walked over to it. Audrey cringed as he sat down in it and reclined. She glanced over at her father, who looked horrified.

"Uh, Galen…"

"I could get used to this." He said, closing his eyes.

Yeah, and you'll have to get used to me pounding you in the face, you prick, Josh thought to himself. Get the hell out of my chair! Donna could see Josh was getting territorial. No one sat in "The Chair".

"Galen, let's go to my room and get started." Audrey suggested, "On my paper." She quickly added, leaving no room for misinterpretation on her father's part.

"Okay." He said, getting up from the recliner. He smiled again at Josh and Donna. "Nice to meet you again, Mr. and Mrs. Lyman."

"And you." Donna said politely. Josh simply nodded. They watched the two walk back to Audrey's room and they left the door open, like they'd agreed on.

When they were out of ear's reach, Josh let out a huge, annoyed sigh and put his hands on his knees, as if exhausted.

"He sat in my chair!" Josh complained.

"Oh, he's fine." Donna told him. "Who are you, one of the three bears?"

"I'll turn in to one and rip his head off if he ever does that again." Josh went on.

"Whatever, Josh." Donna dismissed. "Now sit on the couch and watch basketball like a good boy." She told her husband, pointing to "The Chair". Josh obeyed, enjoying this rare event when he had total control over the television with a gag rule.

"Where's Katie?" He asked, as he plopped himself down, grabbing the remote and turning on to ESPN.

"She's doing her homework."

"Why does she have her door closed?"

"Well, maybe she doesn't want to look at Audrey and Galen. Or maybe she's sick of you."

"That's unlikely."

Actually, Katie was in her room counting the number of Ritalin pills she had left. She'd have to buy some more from her friend Ally again soon. She carefully placed her stash in the bottom of her jewelry box once again and sighed. She could hear her sister giggling in the next room with Galen Morris. Bleh! Katie didn't understand what all the girls saw in him. He was just a spoiled, over-confident ass clown. She preferred not to see it, so her door remained closed. Of course, she got a detailed recap of the event from her sister later that night.

"Oh, Katie, it was awesome!" She whispered excitedly, making sure their parents didn't hear the conversation. "We made out for five whole minutes without them noticing. He is such a great kisser, too. He had one hand on my face and the other on my thigh. He has a tongue like a God!"

"Okay, okay. Too much information! You can stop now!" Katie silenced her, disgusted as she watched Audrey pace back and forth while she sat on her bed.

"Oh, just because you've never kissed a boy, it doesn't mean you have to spoil it for me."

"I just don't want to know all the grimy details, that's all." Katie explained. "So, did you actually get your paper rewritten?" She better have, because that was their primary objective, not exploring each other's tonsils.

"Ye-e-e-e-s." She said, like she was speaking to her mother. "I just need to go type the changes and then I'll turn it back in tomorrow. Hopefully Hilman will grade it fast and I can be ungrounded in time for the weekend.

"Yeah."

"Hey, do you want to be in the dance with us?" Audrey offered.

"No, I think I'll pass." Katie said with a slightly disgusted look on her face. The girls had a few of the same friends, but the three she was doing the dance with weren't exactly Katie's best friends.

"Awe, why not?" Audrey whined.

"Dancing around like a ho dressed in skimpy slut clothes doesn't exactly appeal to me."

"We're not gonna look like ho's." She defended herself. "We'll be in jeans and a tank top."

"What's the song?"

"We haven't decided yet. I was hoping we could have a sleepover Friday and work on it all night."

"Mom and dad will love that." Katie commented.

"Yeah, they will." Audrey paused a moment. "So are you really feeling better?"

"Yes." She replied, a little irritated by all the questions.

Audrey gave her a look. "You don't have to bite my head off, I'm just asking."

Katie closed her eyes, regretting her tone. "I know. I'm sorry. Yes, I'm feeling much better. I think it was just a little stomach sickness."

"Okay." She still thought her sister wasn't telling her something. But she was her twin sister and she'd find out somehow. "Well, I better get to my paper. Are you going to bed?"

"Yeah. Good night."

"'Night, slut."

"'Night, whore." They said playfully.

Josh and Donna had said goodnight to their daughters and finally retired to their own room.

"He was a nice boy." Donna commented again.

"I wouldn't go that far." Josh said, pulling back the covers to climb in. It was getting warm, so he wore just a pair of boxer shorts to bed. Donna was dressed in a sleeveless nightie, looking pretty hot, he thought to himself.

"No boy is good enough in your mind." Donna pointed out as she climbed in the other side. Josh propped his head up in his left hand and faced Donna's side of the bed.

"Nope."

"But as far as boys go, he was pretty good. Audrey said he's ranked second in their class."

Josh sighed and reluctantly admitted, "He was a perfect gentleman. Except for the recliner incident." Galen had turned out to be a pretty decent kid from what he'd seen. But he also knew they probably kissed a little when they weren't looking. Oh, that little…

Donna reached out and started rubbing Josh's left bicep.

"There, was that so hard?"

Josh made a dismissive but agreeable expression, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm proud of you. You didn't embarrass Audrey."

"Was I good enough?" He put his hand on her hip and rubbed it, looking at his wife hopefully.

"Maybe." She smiled. Donna moved her hand from his bicep to his chest. Josh looked down at her fingers then back up at her face. He'd take that as a yes.

The next day was Thursday. The Lymans had almost gotten through another week. Thursday was one of Audrey's easier days. They didn't have cross-country practice that day, so she actually got to go home at 3:30, when school ended. Her sister wasn't so lucky, having her once-a-week ballet class after school. Ballet was one of the few things Katie sucked at, but she loved it. She cut back to once a week lessons once she got to high school so she could concentrate on cross-country and soccer in the fall.

Audrey was determined to find out what was going on with her sister. She didn't like snooping, but Katie had forced her to take drastic measures. She was her sister, so Audrey had to look out for her. She knew Katie would do the same for her in the same situation. Home by herself, Audrey slowly opened the door to her twin sister's room. There were a few clothes, books and other items scattered around the room, a contrast to how her own room normally looked. She first kneeled down on the floor next to her bed. She peeked out the door, afraid that Katie would walk in and go ballistic on her. Seeing that no one was coming, she slowly lifted the comforter up and looked under the bed. A small collection of dust bunnies and a few old board games. Nothing suspicious. Then she moved to her bedside table. She looked in the little drawers, but still nothing out of the ordinary. Audrey snooped around a little more, still not finding anything. She didn't quite know what she was looking for, but her quest continued.

Finally, she came across her sister's jewelry box. She opened it up and some ballet music twinkled. Her eyes fell upon a few bracelets, rings (one of which was hers and had never been returned – she snatched it back up), and necklaces. Audrey carefully moved the items to the side. Then something caught her eye. She saw a plastic bag tucked neatly away at the bottom. When she slowly took it out, her heart dropped. White pills. Ritalin. She'd heard of this at school from different people. But her sister? Using Ritalin? Supposedly, they were supposed to make it easier to stay up to study and give you more energy. Audrey knew the kind of pressure she was under, having the same parents. Being a child of a politician has never been easy, and their parents had very high expectations. But Katie had even higher expectations of herself. She was harder on herself than their parents could ever be. Suddenly, everything clicked in her mind. Katie must have tried to quit last week. She'd been so tired and irritable and nervous. All the warning signs were there. How could she have missed this? She was her twin sister. She was supposed to notice these things. Tears started to form in her eyes as she took the plastic bag in her fist. Audrey knew she'd after to confront her mom and dad about this. She had no idea what to do. They'd be so heartbroken. But Audrey knew they'd stand behind her 100 and do everything they could to help her. Audrey closed the jewelry box gently and with a heavy heart, left the room, closing the door behind her.

Her mother got home at about 5:00. She cheerily greeted her daughter, but the smile quickly disappeared from her face when she saw Audrey.

"Audrey, honey, what's wrong?" She walked over to her daughter, who had tears welling in her eyes and put her right hand on Audrey's cheek.

"Momma…"

Audrey only called her that when she was very upset.

"Yes, honey?"

"Momma, I think Katie's in trouble."

"What?" Audrey pulled a small plastic bag from the back pocket of her jeans with about five white pills filling the space inside.

Donna didn't know pills very well and took the bag in her hand. She held the bag up, trying to examine them.

"What are they?" She asked Audrey.

"It's Ritalin." She replied. Donna's heart dropped.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

_Avril Lavigne – "Nobody's Home"_ _I couldn't tell you _ _Why she felt that way_

_She felt it every day_

_And I couldn't help her_

_I just watched her make_

The same mistakes again 

_What's wrong what's wrong now_

_Too many too many problems_

_Don't know where she belongs_

_Where she belongs_

_She wants to go home_

_But nobody's home_

_That's where she lies, broken inside_

_With no place to go, no place to go_

_To dry her eyes, broken inside_

_Open your eyes_

_And look outside_

_Find the reasons why_

_You've been rejected_

_Now you can't find_

_What you've left behind_

_Be strong be strong now_

_Too many too many problems_

_Don't know where she belongs_

_Where she belongs_

_She wants to go home_

_But nobody's home_

_That's where she lies, broken inside_

_With no place to go, no place to go_

_To dry her eyes, broken inside_

_Her feelings she hides,_

_Her dreams she can't find_

_She's losing her mind, she's falling behind_

_She can't find her place, she's losing her faith_

_She's falling from grace_

_She's all over the place_

_She's lost inside lost inside_

_She's lost inside lost inside_

The full implication of what her daughter had just told her had not hit her until right now. As Donna left Katie's room, she suddenly felt like she'd been hit by a ton of bricks and she had to sit down. Putting her hand on her chest, she crouched down right in the middle of the kitchen.

Why did we put so much pressure on her? Why didn't she come to us? How could she? How dare she? Is she okay?

These thoughts kept running through Donna Lyman's head as she began sobbing, trying to stay quiet so her daughter Audrey wouldn't worry. She needed to stay strong for all of them. Oh, God. How was she going to tell Josh? This is going to crush him. She had to stay strong for him. After a few minutes on the floor, Donna managed to pick herself up and walk ever so slowly to the kitchen sink and get herself a drink of water. Suddenly, things starting clicking in her head like they had for Audrey a few minutes before. All the warning signs had been there. Even though Donna wasn't an expert on the effects of Ritalin and withdrawal, she should've known enough to spot what was going on. Katie was her daughter, for crying out loud. Sure, they weren't too close, but she's her mother! She's supposed to detect these changes in her child. Had she been so caught up in work that she'd missed it? Donna looked again at the plastic bag containing five Ritalin pills and wanted to crush them in her fingers. Instead, she slipped them in her back pocket. Katie wouldn't be home until around 6:30 from ballet class. Josh should be home before then. She needed to tell him and give him time to calm down before their daughter returned. She wasn't sure whether Josh would be furious or empathetic, or a combination of both. Donna guessed it would be the latter. He'd probably lose it at first, but then he'd realize his daughter needed him to stay strong and he'd pull it together. Donna wanted him to get home and stay at work both at the same time. Just a few more minutes until his life was altered by this news. But she didn't want to feel alone like she did now. This must be how her daughter feels all the time. Stop being so selfish, Donna.

Donna went through the motions of cooking dinner, not really thinking about what she was doing. Luckily, the dinner turned out all right. Hamburger Helper was all she felt like cooking. She pushed the pasta around mindlessly for what must have been fifteen minutes. Finally, she heard the garage door open a little after 6:00. Josh was finally home. Audrey heard him too and decided she didn't want to be around for this.

"I'm going for a run, mom." She told Donna with a blank expression on her face. Running always helped her take her mind off of whatever was going on in her life. But could it take her mind off this? "I'll be back in about 45."

"Okay, sweetheart." Donna's face was painted with worry and she knew her daughter picked up on it. Audrey sneaked out the front door, avoiding contact with her father.

Seconds later, Josh came in through the garage door, taking his sunglasses off as he did. His posture and the way he walked indicated he'd had a good day on Capitol Hill. He'd probably gotten a couple more votes for that environmental bill. But that wouldn't matter in a matter of seconds. It would seem as important as hearing news about Britney Spears when an asteroid was hurdling towards Earth.

"Hey, gorgeous." He called to his wife, who had reluctantly pried herself from the couch and turned to face him, wiping a few tears from her eyes. He set his bag down on the floor by the breakfast bar, not yet looking at his wife of twenty years.

Josh turned to face his wife, expecting that she'd come over and give him a kiss and they'd chat joyously about their days. Instead, he found Donna standing by the sofa, arms crossed, with red puffy eyes like she'd been crying for the past hour.

Immediately his face changed. This wasn't the normal 'I had a bad day' Donna. It was something worse.

"Donna, what's wrong?" Josh closed the gap between their bodies within a couple of seconds, taking her in his arms. Donna refused to look at him in the eyes, even when he tried to angle his head to do so. She felt herself about to break down again. Something about the way he rushed over to her, not even knowing what was really going on. He was so filled with love and concern for her and their two daughters. Donna knew what she was about to tell him would make him break down.

"Tell me what's wrong, baby." He probed gently, lightly gripping her wrists, pulling them up to his chest.

Donna moved her head, as if to say, 'If only it were that easy'. Come on, Donna, you need to be strong, she said to herself.

"Josh, it's…I…" And then she started crying. Josh inferred it must be something to do with the girls. They were the only thing that got her this emotional.

"Hey, hey, let's go sit down on the couch." He caught her as her legs fumbled beneath her. Josh took her hand and gently lead her to sit. He took the spot to her left and started stroking her hair, never taking his eyes off her face.

"Now calm down and tell me what's going on."

Donna started nodding, overcompensating for her lack of self-control with large, decisive head movements. She took a few deep breaths and finally felt as if she could talk.

"Josh," She began. She knew she had his full attention. "Audrey found something in Katie's room today. Just a few minutes ago."

"Okay. What is it?" He was rubbing small circles on her back because she still seemed nervous and on-the-edge.

"It's…It's Ritalin." She finally managed to say.

"Ritalin?" Josh repeated, puzzled. "Why would she need Ritalin? She's not ADHD."

"That's the thing, Josh. She bought them from someone. Some kids use them as a study aide. They help give you extra energy so she was taking them to stay up late to do homework. Josh, I think she's addicted. She tried to quit last week. That's why she was so irritable and she snapped."

Josh looked away, unsure of what to think. Katie? Abusing Ritalin?

"You're joking, right?" Josh asked, knowing already full well what the answer was going to be judging by his wife's body language and facial expression. But he prayed to God she would say yes.

She didn't.

"No, baby. I'm afraid not." Donna had finally calmed down after she'd gotten that off her chest. The roles were reversing, she felt, as Josh stopped his hand movement on her back and had now placed his forearms on his legs and looked down at the floor.

This was some kind of sick joke, right? Donna was pulling his leg.

Donna pulled the small plastic bag from her back pocket and tossed them on the coffee table in front of them. The little white pills stared back at them, saying, 'I gave Katie the support you couldn't.'

"Huh?" He asked stupidly, turning his head slightly but not looking at Donna.

"Josh. Our daughter has been using Ritalin to help her study. She may be addicted to them." She tried to spell it out for him, knowing that he was hoping she was lying.

"Why would she need them to study? She's smarter than both of us. She's got a friggin' 3.95 G.P.A. Why would she think she needed help?" He was rubbing his own thigh uncomfortably.

"I don't know, Josh." She told him honestly. "That's what we need to find out."

"But…" He started, but couldn't quite finish his thought. Donna put her hand on his shoulder supportively and that set him off. He didn't want his wife to acknowledge that he was feeling out of control, a rarity in his life. He didn't like the feeling of needing help.

"No!" He shouted, standing up immediately at his wife's comforting touch. Donna flinched a little. She knew he wasn't upset with her, but she didn't like the feeling of being pushed away. Another unfamiliar feeling to her. Josh started pacing, putting one hand in his pant pocket and his right hand by his temple and nervously rubbing it. Donna looked up at him, worried, from the couch.

"Josh…."

"Donna, just wait." He cut her off. He was still trying to process this.

"Ritalin?" He stopped his pacing, putting his hand in his trouser pocket, looking at his wife seriously.

Donna simply nodded and kept her eyes focused on her husband. The pacing started again.

"Why?" He said, stopping again.

"I don't know, honey." Donna repeated patiently. His concern, confusion, anger and temper were starting to build, like a can of soda that had just been shaken up. And Katie's hand was on the pop tab.

"Josh, come sit back down." She suggested, patting the sofa next to her.

"No."

"Okay. Then talk to me. Stop pacing and talk."

"I'm sorry, Donna. I just can't comprehend this right now." His voice was edgy with confusion. His fingers gripped the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I mean…" he chuckled humorlessly "City kids get into shit like this. This is why we moved to the suburbs to keep them away from this."

Donna knew it wasn't just city kids. The last few years they'd heard a lot about kids abusing drugs like Ritalin and Adderall. They'd seen bills. But she was with Josh - their daughter?

"Josh, it can happen to any kid. She's under a lot of pressure, you know?"

"What do you mean? She's sixteen years old." With the amount of pressure he was always under, it was sometimes hard for him to remember exactly how hard it was to be a teenager. And, of course, he didn't understand what it was like to be a teenage girl in the 21st century.

"Exactly, Josh. She's a junior in high school trying to get into the Ivy League. She's got two parents who are politicians. Members of the United States Congress. That's enough to send anyone down the wrong path. Plus, she's got a twin sister to compete with. She's so hard on herself."

"I still don't…." He started, then shook his head, looking up at the ceiling. "She was doing just fine without it."

Donna shrugged in agreement. "We don't know how long she's been using them."

That set Josh pacing again. How long had she been using? Two weeks? Two months? Two years, even?

"That's why we need to talk to her."

"I can't talk to her. I don't know if I can face her. What can I say to her, Donna, what?" He said, irately, desperation in his face.

"Josh, you first just need to calm down." Donna finally stood up and walked to where her husband was standing and put her hands on his forearms. "We've dealt with tough stuff before. We are the parents and we need to be a unit."

Josh looked down and took his wife's hands in his, thankful she was thinking straight. Their wedding bands twinkled simultaneously in the dwindling afternoon spring sun. They were married. They were a unit and they were going to get through this. He ran his thumbs over the top of her hands.

"You're right." He said, finally looking up again right in Donna's eyes. "We're gonna get through this."

Donna closed her eyes, thankful he had finally come to his senses. Now they were in this together, just like she had predicted. He'd had his spout and now he was back. They rested their foreheads together for a few moments before Josh pulled away and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I love you, Donnatella Lyman." He whispered.

"I love you too."

Both parents washed off their faces to refresh themselves from the shocking news that had suddenly sent the family spiraling downward. Donna reapplied some makeup to her alabaster skin and Josh stirred the Hamburger Helper, turning the burner down to low, not knowing how long this would take. They both had butterflies in their stomachs, like they were waiting to see the principal after being in a huge food fight. But they weren't. They were waiting for their sixteen-year-old daughter to return home to confront her about drug use.

At 6:32, Kaitlyn Marie Lyman walked through the garage door after being dropped off by a friend who was also in the class. She'd had a good day. Sure, she was probably the worst ballerina ever known to man, but she just loved the sound of the music, the sound of the point shoes against the wood floor, and lately, the pain that shot through her toes that let her know she could still feel.

She reached the kitchen, her face fresh and bright and her hair pulled back into a dancer's bun. She wore black athletic pants and a white v-neck top over her leotard.

Josh sighed from the kitchen, hearing his daughter's voice, knowing it was time. He made eye contact with his wife across the room, silently encouraging one another as they prepared for perhaps the most difficult conversation they'd ever have with Kaitlyn in her life.

"Hey, guys." She greeted them cheerfully, putting her dancing bag down next to her father's work bag. She stood and pulled her hair out of the dancer's bun it was in and then rebound it into a more comfortable ponytail. It was then that she noticed her parents' faces. "What's wrong?" She looked back and forth between them.

"Kaitlyn, why don't you go back to your room and your mom and I will be back there in a minute. We need to talk." Josh told her seriously.

"Okay…" She said nervously. Her heart started pounding a little harder and her mind started racing as she turned and walked back to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and immediately went to her jewelry box. Katie opened it and frantically started looking through it for her pills. They weren't in there. She searched every corner and crevice for about 20 seconds and finally gave up, slamming the top shut. They knew. She turned around a few times, not knowing whether to burst out her room or just to stay there or jump out the window. She finally decided to sit on her bed. Katie put her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands. This was going to suck, she thought to herself. She didn't want to see their faces.

Just outside the bedroom, Donna and Josh had met halfway between where they were each standing a minute ago. Josh took his wife in his arms and rubbed her back supportively.

"You ready?" He asked her.

Donna nodded, pulling back. Of course she wasn't ready for this, but it had to be done. Josh took her hand and they walked to their daughter's bedroom. He politely knocked on her door.

"Baby, can we come in?" He called, waiting for her permission to come in.

Katie paused for a moment. "Yeah." She called back, staring at a spot on the wall. Katie avoided eye contact as they came in. Her mother closed the door behind them in case Audrey came home. She wouldn't want to hear this conversation.

"Katie, we need to talk." Her father began. They both stood before her, in judgment in her mind. Josh had his hands in his pockets and Donna's arms were crossed in front of her. They were both still dressed in their work clothes, in contrast to Katie's much more casual athletic wear.

"About what?" She said, on the off chance it was something besides the Ritalin.

"I think you know what, sweetheart." He said delicately.

"Tell me." She demanded.

Josh sighed and looked over at his wife. She looked back at him and he knew she couldn't speak. He'd have to do it.

"Well, we've all been really worried about you lately. You were pretty down for a few days."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, Audrey was so concerned that she looked through your room and, uh, Katie, she found these." He said, holding up the evidence in his right hand.

Katie looked at the dangling pills in her father's hand. Her best friend and her worst enemy all in a tiny little white pill. Suddenly, she felt angry. Betrayed.

"Audrey was in my room!" She suddenly changed her voice, standing up. "What the hell was she doing in my room? You need to punish her for going through my stuff. That's not fair!"

"Under the circumstances, I don't think that will be necessary." He told her. His eyes were drilling into her, making her very uncomfortable.

"Stop looking at me like that. Like I'm a freak." She demanded as she began pacing, one of the habits she'd gotten from Josh.

"Katie, we don't think you're a freak. Now why don't you sit back down." He walked over to her and gently gripped her wrist, pulling her towards the bed. She snatched it back.

"No, I want to stand."

"Fine." He didn't want to set her off and he stepped back to stand with his wife.

Donna stepped in. "Katie, we're not trying to judge you. We're just trying to find out why this is happening. You don't need those pills."

"You wouldn't know!" She snapped, pacing once again. Katie was getting edgy. "You don't know the kind of pressure I'm under! Neither of you had politician parents and I have two! And you expect perfection! What the hell else do you think was going to happen?" She glared at her parents, her eyes darting back and forth between the two stiff, upright bodies.

"I know, Katie, we may have pushed you too hard. We just want to make sure you're the best you can be. But if you were feeling too much pressure, why didn't you come to us?" Donna tried to understand.

Katie let out a dismissive, annoyed sigh. "Yeah. I'll tell you I'm under too much pressure and then you'd say" she changed to a sarcastic, chastising tone "'You can handle it, Katie, maybe you should cut back on the extracurricular activities.'"

That hit both Josh and Donna like another ton of bricks. Oh, God. It was their fault. They expected too much. People had been telling them to cut the girls some slack for years, but they hadn't listened. High expectations yielded high results, they'd been told. But not without a few side effects. Katie stared at her parents for a few moments and they stared back at her. Tears were forming in all three sets of eyes. Donna was the first to break down.

"Oh, Katie…" She walked over to her daughter, her arms outstretched.

"Momma…" Katie started sobbing, accepting her mother's warmth. Donna wrapped her arms around her daughter and pulled her to sit on the bed where they both continued to sob. Donna rocked her daughter back and forth. They were a heap of clothes and hair and sobbing bodies on the bed as Josh watched, not knowing whether to join them.

His emotions soon took over and he sat next to Katie, now sandwiched by her two parents. Josh held her but just stared at the floor, not knowing what to say. Had he really done this to his baby girl? Had he forced her to turn somewhere else where she could get the comfort she needed without fear of being reprimanded for not trying hard enough? God, Josh, what have you done? You idiot.

From the other side of Katie, Donna reached her hand over and touched Josh's right. He responded to it, finally feeling needed. He gently gripped the forearm that was attached and then rested his head against the brown, curly-haired one sitting next to him, taking in the smell of her hair, thankful she was there safe with him. They remained like that for several minutes. The sobs were finally subsiding and Katie at last peeked her head out from behind that veil of Donna's golden blonde hair she'd been hiding under. Donna lovingly stroked her daughter's head, looking at her in the eyes as she did so. Then she wiped the tears from under Katie's eyes.

"Katie, we're going to take you to a therapist tomorrow afternoon, okay?" She kept one hand on her daughter's face.

Katie nodded, accepting the help. Though she'd been dreading this confrontation that she knew would eventually happen, she felt a huge weight being lifted off her chest. They knew and they didn't hate her. They didn't think she was a freak.

"Okay." She affirmed. Then she felt her father's arm pulling her to him as he kissed her head several times softly.

"We're here for you, okay? Don't you forget it." Josh told her. Katie turned her body and hugged her father warmly.

"Thank you, dad." She whispered. He patted her back supportively and then pulled away, taking a look at her.

All three simultaneously dried their eyes and stretched a little from the long, emotional ride they'd just taken.

"Well, how about some dinner?" Donna suggested, trying to be upbeat. "It's been simmering for about an hour."

"Sounds good. I'm starving." Katie told her parents. They all got up and walked to the door, streaming out to the kitchen. Though they still had mountains ahead of them, it felt good to take the first step.

"Where's Audrey?" Josh finally noticed. He hadn't even had time to realize she wasn't there. The three Lymans gathered around the breakfast bar in their kitchen.

"Oh." Donna said, looking away uncomfortably. "She went out for a run. She should be back any minute." She didn't want to mention to Katie or Josh that Audrey didn't want to be in the house during the confrontation.

Katie leaned on the bar, resting her chin on one hand as she stared straight ahead, thinking. "She's really mad, isn't she?" She finally said, knowing her twin well.

Donna frowned and shifted her weight. "I don't know, honey. She was just really concerned. She left before we had a lot of time to talk about it. But if she is, Katie…"

"I know." Katie cut her off. "She's just looking out for me."

Donna smiled slightly, acknowledging her daughter's inference.

And she was. Audrey came through the front door about ten minutes later. Judging by the slam of the door, she wasn't feeling particularly forgiving. Her run hadn't really helped. It may have even fueled more feelings of hurt, concern, and anger, mixing together in a dangerous cauldron of emotions.

She wordlessly walked through the living room with a decidedly angry posture, not making eye contact with any of the three family members staring at her, waiting for her to say something. Audrey continued to look straight ahead until the last second, during which she shot her sister an evil glare. Ouch. She punctuated her expression by slamming her bedroom door closed.

All three of them let out a sigh of frustration. Katie nervously tucked a piece of dark fallen hair behind her ear and then began examining her fingernails.

"Well, why don't we eat first and we can talk later, okay?" Donna suggested in the most optimistic way possible, not at all helping the mood or situation. She began dishing out the hour-old Hamburger Helper onto plates and Katie began to take them to the kitchen table. Josh took it upon himself to go coax Audrey out of her room. Her sister needed her.

He knocked politely on the door like he always did before entering one of his children's rooms.

"Audrey, are you decent?" He asked, not knowing if she was changing.

There was a pause and he heard an angry sigh. "Yes!"

Josh came in and closed the door behind him, immediately putting both hands in his pants pocket. He didn't say anything. He merely studied his daughter as she moved about the room, putting various items away quite fiercely. Josh knew Audrey was aware of why he was there. He wanted her to come out to eat dinner with the family and be a sister to Katie. But why should she? Katie had done something insanely stupid and she needed to know it. She'd brought shame to their family and had caused her parents' hearts to break. Now it was Katie's turn to feel a little rejection.

"I'm not eating out there." She finally said, breaking the silence. "I don't want to eat with her. I don't want anything to do with her right now."

"Audrey…" Josh tried to begin.

"Don't 'Audrey' me! She fucked up and now I'm sure you and mom are all 'Oh, poor Katie. She needs our sympathy'. She should have come to us with this!"

"Watch your mouth, please. Are you saying you don't think Katie deserves to get any help?"

"No!" She stopped what she was doing and threw a pair of socks angrily to the floor. "She needs all the help she can get, but she needs to know the pain she's been causing!"

"So now this is about you?"

"I didn't say that."

"Audrey, she needs your help now more than any other time. She's not going to be able to heal when you're down her throat and trying to make her feel guilty. She was there for you when you had your emergency appendectomy." He walked closer to where Audrey was standing, now with her arms crossed defiantly across her chest.

"That wasn't by choice. She chose to do this. I'm not prepared toY do be all 'It's okay, Katie' right now." She told him honestly, looking away. "And why the hell isn't she in trouble with you and mom? I couldn't handle the pressure and got an F and got grounded and she started to frickin' do drugs and you're all concerned? What the hell is up with that? That's bullshit!"

"Audrey, these are totally different circumstances. Katie is in serious emotional and physical disarray. You had a minor slip-up."

"So she should get grounded for, like, two months if you're applying the same rules, which you never do because you've always liked her more."

"Audrey, you're treading on thin ice." Josh could feel his blood starting to boil, being accused of liking one daughter more than the other.

"You know it's true!" She argued, "She's your favorite. You never punish her. You wait for mom to do it!"

"Audrey!" He wished she would stop or he might snap.

"Maybe next time I'm feeling a little pressured I'll just pop a few pills and then I won't get in trouble!"

"Audrey Elizabeth Lyman, stop this nonsense right now!" Josh bellowed, using her full name so she knew he wasn't fooling around if she couldn't tell already. They both stood quietly for a moment, their minds trying to absorb the emotion, breathing heavily and staring each other down.

Josh lowered his voice and began again.

"Sweetheart, I know it's hard to understand, but believe me, your sister does not need to be punished. She has enough guilt to deal with already. And it would be the same if, God forbid, it were to happen to you. She needs our support, not us scolding her. You will not stay in your room and ignore her. I won't permit it." Josh told her, straight up.

Audrey let out an annoyed sound and raised her voice, still not convinced that her parents' treatment of her sister was fair. "Then you'll have to drag me out there."

"Oh, grow up, Audrey." He snapped.

"Screw this! This is bullshit!"

Josh grabbed Audrey's upper arm angrily. "Audrey, your sister and your family needs you." His voice was edgy, but he tried to whisper so his wife and other daughter couldn't hear. "You WILL NOT turn your back on her."

He stared at her for a few moments, letting her know how serious he was as she continued to look straight ahead. Josh finally let go of Audrey's arm and stepped back.

"Now I'm going back into the kitchen to eat dinner. I expect to see you out there in two minutes. If you're not, I _will_ come back and drag you out." Josh couldn't believe how forceful he'd had to be to get Audrey to show a little support for her own sister. He knew Audrey was upset and could understand why, but Katie really needed her support right now. Josh turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him again.

Donna could tell there'd been confrontation in Audrey's room when Josh came out and rubbed his nose, looking down as he walked to the kitchen table. He pulled the chair out from the table a little more forcefully than necessary and sat down to eat. She decided not to ask him what had happened.

A reluctant Audrey came out of her room at what must have been one minute and fifty-nine seconds later. She debated staying in there to see what her mom and dad would do, but decided to give in. Her body language communicated what Josh had just witnessed: disgust in her sister and a refusal to talk about it or support Katie. She kept her eyes on her food as she poked as angrily as possible at her carrots. Josh glared over at her but she kept her gaze focused down. Needless to say, it wasn't a very pleasant meal. It kind of felt like a meal after someone had died. No one wanted to bring anything up in case it could spark the delicate emotion in the room.

After Audrey had eaten about 1/3 of her meal, she began to get up to go back to her room.

"Audrey, you're dishes tonight." Josh told her, taking a sip of his water.

"Excuse me?" She paused with her plate in one hand.

"You're dishes." He repeated, knowing she had heard him the first time.

She glared at him for a few seconds. "Fine." Audrey walked with as much attitude as the situation allowed over to the dishwasher, slamming her plate down. Katie had been feeling the tension all throughout dinner and knew she was the cause of it. She just wanted to get out of the situation.

"I'm gonna go to my room." She whispered. Josh and Donna could swear they saw tears just about to brim in her eyes.

"Okay, sweetheart." Donna smiled up encouragingly at her. "I'll be back in a few minutes, alright?"

Katie simply nodded and took her plate to the kitchen, placing it as quickly as possible on the counter next to where her twin sister was angrily putting items into the dishwasher. She almost jogged back to her room and shut the door firmly behind her. Donna exchanged looks with her husband, both not in the mood to deal with yet another issue of the household this evening. She then silently got up and took her plate over to her daughter. Donna started stroking Audrey's blonde hair, identical to her own.

"Audrey." She started. "I know you're not in the mood to hear this, but you really need to think about the kind of signals you're sending out. Katie needs to heal, and it's hard to do that when you've got what seems like an enemy in your own house."

Audrey stared straight ahead, letting her mother know she wasn't happy about this lecture by shoving forks and knives into the dishwasher with vigor. When she got no verbal reply from her daughter, Donna simply replied, "Think about it." and walked away. She walked calmly out of the kitchen and into Katie's room.

Josh was hardly in the same mood about the situation as his wife was. Donna had tried gently encouraging Audrey to change her attitude, but Josh had never been patient enough for this type of exchange in a situation as such. As he began to walk to the kitchen, he told himself to calm down and remember to stay the adult in the situation. He couldn't snap at her or he'd lose the credibility of all his arguments with Audrey. Josh stood beside his daughter, placing his plate on the counter, pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath. Then he turned to the side, leaning against the counter with his left hand and putting his right on his other hip. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off before the words left his lips.

"Don't start with me, dad." Audrey said directly. She scrubbed at the pot the Hamburger Helper had been cooked in. Maybe she'd break some plates tonight.

"Don't start what? Telling you how completely inconsiderate and downright hurtful you're being?"

"I have the right to express whatever feelings I possess."

Josh chuckled grimly. "Not when it involves your sister's health."

"Why are we so concerned with her health when she could care less?" She stopped and looked at him. "She didn't care what she did to her body, dad."

"She made a mistake Audrey. You make them too, I can remind you."

"A pretty damn big one."

Josh sighed, frustrated and then shifted his stance, leaning his back against the counter. He dropped his voice.

"You give people second chances all the time. Why won't you give your twin sister one?" He asked seriously.

Audrey shifted uncomfortably at her father's excellent point. She looked down and then finally met his gaze. He raised his eyebrows, as if asking her to answer his question.

"She's scared out of her mind right now, and so am I. And so are you."

Josh heard his daughter sniffle a little. It had sure been an emotional evening.

"Okay." He put his hands on her shoulders. "I know you'll do the right thing, sweetheart." Josh told her seriously. Josh smirked a little bit and then took her head in his hands and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Good girl." He said as he walked away. Josh headed back to his bedroom for some much-needed rest time. He had no more energy left to go check on Donna and Katie. He was sure his wife had it under control.

Donna was still talking with her daughter Katie about the day's events in her bedroom.

"You just have to give her a little time, sweetheart." She tried to dismiss Audrey's cold behavior at dinnertime. "She's just really scared right now, you know? Just like you." Katie sat on her bed with a pillow hugged to her chest and Donna sat facing her with one hand on her daughter's knee.

"I know, mom. But it still hurts." A single tear fell from her eye and she quickly wiped it away.

"Yeah." Donna agreed. "We just need to be patient, she'll come around." Audrey's treatment of her sister was tearing Donna up inside. Katie desperately needed her best friend to be behind her 100, and Audrey wouldn't even acknowledge she was in the room. She couldn't get through this without Audrey. They'd grown up together, protecting each other from bullies, celebrating each other's accomplishments, being goofy together, and probably, though she didn't want to think about it, covering for each other. There were countless other gestures, hugs, encouragements and strictly 'sister only' conversations they'd had over the years. No one, not even Donna herself, could compare to that sort of bond.

A knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Donna asked.

"It's me." Came Audrey's voice from behind the door. Donna looked back at Katie, who had a hopeful but scared look on her face.

"Come in." Katie said after a short pause.

Audrey entered the bedroom looking somewhat sorry. As she closed the door gently, Donna could tell by the way she carried herself that she was ready to be supportive of her sister. Feeling the chemistry was safe, Donna decided to leave her two girls to it to talk things over.

"Well, I'm going to go see what your father's up to. I'll leave you two alone." She glanced first at Katie, then at Audrey, raising her eyebrows to encourage her new thoughtfulness.

"Thanks mom." Audrey said. She waited until her mother had left to begin speaking.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, taking her mother's place on the bed.

"Like crap." She said honestly, chuckling a little. The Ritalin was starting to wear off since she hadn't taken any in a while.

Audrey smiled slightly at her sister's chuckle. She knew Katie had forgiven her instantly for the way she'd treated her earlier. Katie was so selfless when it came to things like that, like their mother. Suddenly, she wanted to take back everything bad she'd ever said about her sister. Because she was a better person.

"Katie..." She began.

"You don't have to say anything, Audrey." She cut her sister off. "I know you're scared. I would hate me too if I were you." The right side of her mouth turned up a little bit.

"That's the thing." Audrey could feel herself getting choked up. "You would've been there for me. And I was too selfish." She sobbed. Katie looked sympathetically at her twin and instantly reached over and put her hand on Audrey's shoulder.

"It's okay, Audrey." She whispered. "You're here for me now. That's what matters."

Audrey continued to cry, partly in relief that her sister didn't hate her for being so cold. Katie shifted herself from her spot on the bed and hugged her sister warmly.

"Why didn't you come to me, for Christ's sake, Katie? I'm your best friend." Audrey questioned her sister tearfully.

"I know. I can't explain it. I just felt so…alone."

"Come to me next time. We can be alone together."

The twins stayed glued in their embrace for a long while, comforting each other the way only they could.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

LeAnn Womack "I Hope You Dance"   
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder 

_You get your fill-to-eat but always keep that hunger_

_May you never take one single breath for granted_

_God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed_

_I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean_

_Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens_

_Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance_

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance_

_I hope you dance_

_I hope you dance_

_May you never fear those mountains in the distance_

_Never settle for the path of least resistance_

_Living might mean taking chances, but they're worth taking_

_Loving might be a mistake, but it's worth making_

_Don't let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter_

_When you come close to selling out, reconsider_

_Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance_

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance_

_I hope you dance_

_I hope you dance_

The Lyman family had once again finally reached the end of the week. Friday at last! It was always easier to get out of bed on the final day of a long week. Audrey and Katie sped off to school on time. Though they knew they were doing just fine at school, today was midterms day and they were nervous. When you've gotten straight 'A's all your life, there's always a little voice in the back of your head saying 'don't screw up'. Hopefully, Mr. Hilman, the girls' english teacher, had graded Audrey's rewritten paper and she could have a sleepover that night to rehearse for the talent show. If her parents were in a good mood. Audrey prayed to God Capitol Hill would be good to her mom and dad today.

Midterms were to be handed out during third period, which happened to be AP english class. An outsider could tell the whole class's stomachs were in knots. It was a class of over-achieving Ivy-League hopefuls. They were all straight-A students with an enormous amount of pressure set upon them. At 10:55 a.m., Mr. Hilman began to pass out the one-sheet midterm papers that contained the current grades for all seven classes they were required to enroll in.

"Audrey Lyman! Kaitlyn Lyman!" he called amongst a bunch of other names the girls didn't hear. Both girls quickly got up and collected the bearer of either good news or bad news. They looked for and found the familiar pattern that seven straight A's formed on their papers. A sigh of relief. They could relax a little over the weekend.

"Don't forget to return these to school on Monday with a parent signature. Have a good weekend!" Mr. Hilman announced as the bell rang. From the cheerful hum and smiles from the other students, Audrey and Katie could tell that their grades were similar. "Oh, Audrey! I have your english paper graded." Audrey had almost forgotten to ask him amidst her relief about midterms.

Audrey got up again excitedly from her seat, smiling in anticipation. She could just feel it when she had an 'A'. She reached his desk and he turned her paper over, smiling.

"Nice job, Lyman. Let's not repeat this again, okay?"

Audrey did a little dance as she saw the 'A' on her paper. "Thank you, Mr. Hilman. Don't worry, I won't."

Katie was waiting for her sister at the door to the classroom. She smiled when she saw the same expression on Audrey's face.

"You got an 'A'?" She inquired.

"Yeah!" She cheered. "I'm gonna call dad right now to see if I can have a sleepover."

"You brought your cell phone into school?" Katie asked, always one to be mindful of school rules.

"Only today. I leave it in the car the rest of the time."

"Hell raiser." She joked. "I'll see you in government, okay?"

"Okay, see ya." They went their separate ways. Audrey quickly found the girls' bathroom a few doors down and locked herself into one of the stalls, dialing her father's office.

He picked up on the third ring.

"Josh Lyman."

"Dad!" Audrey said excitedly.

"Audrey? What are you doing calling me at 11:00? Aren't you supposed to be in class getting something called an education?"

"It's passing period, dad. Anyways, guess what?" She played a guessing game like she was seven years old with a playful attitude that matched.

"What is it, Audrey?"

"I got on 'A' on my english rewrite and I got straight A's again on my midterm!"

"Really? That's great, honey. Good job." He told her, not surprised. His little girls were awesome.

"Soooo…."

"Soooo….what?"

"Can I have my sleepover tonight?"

Josh scrunched his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, knowing that he'd have to let her. He was having a good day but there was nothing quite like a houseful of giddy teenage girls to bring the mood down to a halting stop. And to lose sleep.

"Pleeeeeease?" She begged in her sweetest voice. "We'll promise to be quiet."

"Yeah, that's likely." He commented. "Alright, but only the three girls we talked about before, okay? No one else." He gave in. He anticipated her screeching in to the phone and pulled the receiver away from his ear.

"EEEeeeeeee!" She predictably squealed. "Thank you, dad! Thank you thank you thank you! You're the best!"  
"I know. I'll be home at 4:30, okay, and we can go pick up pizza."

"Oh, dad. Ella's working at the shoe store and she gets off at, like, 5:00. Can we go pick her up?" Ella Parker was one of Audrey's best friends and was also close to the whole family in general. Last year, when her home life got kind of rough, she'd even lived with the Lymans for two months.

"Yeah, sure. I need a new pair of work shoes. She can hook me up. She gets paid on commission, right?"

"Yeah. Okay, see ya then!"

"Bye, sweetheart." He smiled to himself as he pushed the power button on his cordless phone. Great, he thought to himself. Five hyper, giddy teenage girls on a Friday night rehearsing a most-likely hideous dance to a repulsive song. What could possibly be better?

Audrey was in a dangerous mood. When she was fresh off a high like straight-A-midterms-A-on-the-english-paper-sleepover-tonight-with-best-girlfriends mood, she could do some crazy things. She just couldn't help herself. Katie knew this and was not surprised about what she did that day in government class.

Always one to want to impress (especially Galen Morris) and pull a fast one on any adult, she was in the mood to get under Mrs. Taylor's skin. Well, she wasn't particularly in the mood to get at _her_ in particular, but the perfect opportunity happened to come up that day in class. Daria Clark was celebrating her last day at school before she moved to Oregon and had brought in some cupcakes. Daria also gave one to her teacher, who happened to get some on her chin. Mrs. Taylor also happened to be quite overweight and had more like two or three chins. She also wasn't anyone's favorite teacher. In fact, she was the reason for the word 'bitch', as the girls had come to call her behind her back.

"Do I have some cake on my chin?" She asked the front row after feeling something on her face.

"Which one?" Audrey chimed in without missing a beat. The class fell silent as Mrs. Taylor's face slowly took on an evil glare. The eyes of the entire class were on the teacher, who stared at Audrey. Audrey had a smug look on her face. Katie covered her mouth so she wouldn't laugh but was thinking that Audrey just written her own tombstone.

"Go to the Dean's office now!" Mrs. Taylor boomed, pointing to the door with her chubby pointer finger, her arm fat wobbling. Audrey meekly got up from her seat and collected her things and walked triumphantly to the door. The other students snickered in disbelief and awe, trying not to burst out laughing to avoid the wrath of Mrs. Anderson.

They'd call her parents. But Audrey was a step ahead of them. At the beginning of the year, she'd changed the phone numbers on both her and Katie's emergency contact cards so the school would never be able to reach them. If something serious ever happened, Katie would, of course, know the correct number. Her parents' email addresses were public knowledge, but the school would leave messages on the phone machines before resorting to that. Sure, they'd find out eventually, but not before the sleepover. Audrey had to get her kicks. Her dad would probably think it was funny.

After being detained in the dean's office for the rest of the day while the dean tried to reach one of her parents, Audrey was finally released at the end of the school day. She met Katie at their usual spot, Audrey's locker. Audrey had a smug look on her face as she strolled up to her sister's locker.

"Audrey Elizabeth Lyman, what the hell has gotten into you?" Katie demanded with an amused look on her face. She had to admire her sister's guts. She could definitely never do what Audrey had just done. That was the difference between them.

"Thank you, I'll be here all night!" She told Katie as she began to turn the combination to her locker.

"Mom and dad are gonna kill you when they find out."

"Yeah, but not tonight." She said. Audrey just had no remorse.

"You just got un-grounded! What the hell is the matter with you?"

"No one knows."

Katie rolled her eyes and rested her head on the locker next to Audrey's.

"Let's just get out of here." Katie pleaded. Audrey packed only one textbook into her backpack this weekend, planning to take a break from studying after pulling straight-A midterms.

"Amen to that." She said, zipping up her backpack. The twins then walked down the long hallway of Northern Virginia New School out to their car. Audrey was on a high, so there was no arguing about who was going to drive. Katie also knew they'd have the stereo on full blast with the windows down as Audrey sang awfully to the radio.

"Pour me! Pour me! Pour me! Pour me another shot of whiskey! Bartender hit me one more time!" Audrey screamed out the window. Katie buried her head in her hands, embarrassed, but she had to smile. This was the scene the entire way home.

Donna arrived home at about 3:30 just after the girls got home from school. She'd managed to make an emergency meeting with a psychologist in D.C., Dr. Hampton, and needed to get Katie to her 4:00 appointment. They rushed out the door, leaving a giddy Audrey home alone until her father arrived at 4:30.

At Dr. Hampton's office, the usual paperwork intimidated Donna and Katie, but they slowly worked through it. Finally, Dr. Hampton was ready to see them. As Katie got up, she felt a few butterflies in her stomach. A shrink was waiting to see her. What the hell had she done wrong?

Donna and Katie waited in near silence in their patient room. Donna glanced at her watch…4:13, and then glanced at her daughter.

"So, how was school today?" She tried to make conversation, but it seemed so unimportant compared to the reason they were sitting in that very room.

"It was fine."

"Did you get…never mind." Donna stopped herself. She didn't want Katie to feel that grades were the only thing important to her, but Katie already knew what she was going to ask.

"My midterms?" she finished for her mother. "Yeah. Straight A's again."

Donna nodded. "You work hard, honey. We're proud of you. But don't drive yourself over the edge."

Katie threw her head back in annoyance. "Well, it's a little too late for that talk, don't you think?" She snapped. "I'm in a friggin' shrink's office, for crying out loud!"

"Okay, Katie. Let's just drop it for now." She said, looking at the floor. Katie rolled her eyes. They remained silent for the few more minutes it took for Dr. Hampton to come in. Doctors gave Donna the creeps. Doctors of any kind.

There was a loud knock on the door and Dr. Hampton walked in without giving them a chance to answer.

"Good afternoon, folks." He greeted warmly. Dr. Hampton was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and bright red hair, looking a bit freakish. His face was friendly, though as he smiled at the two nervous people staring back at him.

"Hi, Dr. Hampton." Donna stood up. "I'm Donnatella Lyman and this is my daughter, Kaitlyn."

Dr. Hampton shook Donna's hand and then turned to shake Katie's, who remained seated despite her parents' teachings to always rise when an elder greeted her.

"A pleasure to meet you both." He took a seat on his special swivel-chair. Doctors were always possessive about those things. He cleared his throat before beginning. "Well, let's start with a little history. Donna, would you care to enlighten me?"

"Certainly." She rubbed her thigh nervously. "Well, uh, Katie was born along with her fraternal twin Audrey on June 2nd, 1988 here in D.C. Normal pregnancy, birth, infancy. No major illnesses besides the usual Chicken Pox and the like."

"Okay. Katie, how would you describe your childhood?" He turned his attention to the unsure 16-year-old sitting across from him.

"What about it?" She nervously glanced at her mother for a second.

"Was it happy? Did you have any major problems with parents or siblings?"

"Uh, I guess it was normal. Aside from having two politician parents. I guess there's always been a lot of pressure."

"What about your relationship with your sister?" He probed.

"We've always been pretty close, but competitive." Dr. Hampton nodded agreeably but sensed her mother was perhaps holding her back.

"Okay." He started. "Well, Mrs. Lyman, I'd really like to speak with Katie individually for a while, if you don't mind."

Donna was slightly surprised, but she should have expected this request. He was here to see her daughter, not both of them. She supposed it was the protective mother thing. She darted her eyes a little uncomfortably.

"Oh, of course." She slapped her hands on her thighs and got up. Donna looked back at her daughter, who was staring at the floor. "I'll be right outside, okay sweetie?"

"Okay, mom." She said with a little urgency in her voice, as if she just wanted her to get out.

"Okay." She smiled slightly and then scurried out the door into the waiting room.

Josh Lyman got home at 4:30 sharp after being dropped off by a neighbor. He could tell Audrey was home because he heard her music blaring all the way outside. He made his way through the house to her bedroom door, which was shut even though she was the only one home. He banged on the door as loud as he could to get her attention, but to no avail. Finally, he gave up and opened the door to find Audrey actually cleaning her room. She was having guests, so she didn't want to be perceived as a piggish slob, which she really was. He didn't want to touch her because she might freak out, so he just waited in the doorway until she saw him. Which scared the shit out of her anyway.

"Holy shit dad!" She screamed, but he couldn't hear her over the music. She made her way to the stereo and turned it down.

"It's a good thing I didn't hear that. It looked like you just mouthed a cuss word."

"Never from this sweet angelic mouth." She told him.

"Yeah. You ready to go?" He asked her, hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, let me find my purse." She dug through a pile of clothes that was off in one corner and finally emerged with a blue-striped bag.

"Okay. We're a go." Audrey told him. Josh held his arm out as if to escort her, a regularity in her younger days. Audrey smiled over-exuberantly, raising her nose snobbishly as she took his arm and Josh had to laugh.

"Don't laugh at me. I'll tear you a new one."

"Excuse me?" He laughed again.

"No time for conversing, father, I have an appearance to make." Josh just rolled his eyes.

They soon arrived at Bob's Quality Shoes where Ella Parker worked in the mall. Josh and Ella had a great banter together and he planned to milk it today while she had to work. He strolled in and Ella immediately smiled from the counter when she saw the two Lymans. She was working though, so she had to act somewhat professionally.

"Good afternoon, sir and miss. Did you get lost? The yuppie store is just around the corner next to Overpriced Jewelry-R-Us."

She had a playful smile on her face, trying to keep up the façade to her boss that she was working.

"No thank you, miss. We were looking for a low-grade store. I was looking for a brown shoe." Josh told her vaguely. Ella had told him once that she detested when customers were so vague with their requests.

"Well, you've come to the right place, sir. We even sell our shoes in pairs, so if you play your cards right, you can walk out of here with not one, but two brown shoes!"

The three of them looked at one another with a mock-enthusiasm on their faces. Josh started laughing theatrically and leaned back, letting his voice resonate throughout the store, causing a few other customers to glance over.

"Well, wonderful! Is this your daughter? My, isn't she stunning? If I were you, I'd buy her a new Mustang and a shopping spree to the mall."

"Why thank you, miss. She's actually just had major plastic surgery. Hideous as an ape."

"Oh, delightful!" She said with the straightest face. Audrey beamed back at her. "I can see where she gets her ape looks." She shot back. Audrey snorted in laughter.

"Miss, I have a lovely brown purse that would go wonderfully with that birthmark on your upper arm I see staring at me." Audrey glanced at her right upper arm where she did have a small brown birthmark.

"Well, you see…" She played along, "I've been having problems deciding what color purse to get because it keeps changing colors. First it's black, then brown, then kind of an ear-wax yellow…"

"Darling, let's not discuss your skin problems in public." Josh stopped her, disgusted, even though he knew she was joking.

"Well, anyways, Mr. Lyman, let's find you two new brown shoes." Ella suggested and began walking to another part of the store as the Lymans followed. They soon picked Josh out a lovely pair of Merrells and proceeded to checkout.

Back at Dr. Hampton's office, he was just getting started getting to know Kaitlyn Lyman.

"So, Katie. Describe your relationship with your mother for me."

"My mother?" She asked for clarification nervously even though she'd heard him just fine.

"Yes."

"Well, we get along okay, I guess. I mean, we're not exactly close."

"Have you always felt that way, or just recently in your teen years?"

Katie thought for a moment. "Always, I guess. She's a great mom, but I've always just preferred my dad."

"Okay. Tell me about your relationship with your father." He glanced at his paperwork. "Joshua Lyman?"

"Yeah, that's him." She smiled at the many fond memories, "He's like my best friend. We love the hell out of each other."

Dr. Hampton smiled. "You've always had a special connection with him?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. We just kinda click. We're a lot alike."

"So, your relationship with your father's great, with your mother so-so, and with your sister just fine?"

"Yeah."

"So, what made you start taking Ritalin?" He asked, straight-up.

Katie looked away and examined her fingernails, one of her nervous habits.

"I don't know…"

"Tell me more about the kind of pressure you're under. Your father's a Senator and your mother's a member of the House of Representatives. There's gotta be some high expectations there."

"Yeah, there is. I mean, I've always been driven to do well, you know. But sometimes I feel like they're breathing down my neck a little bit, especially my mom." She found it surprisingly easy to open up to Dr. Hampton, even though she'd known him only 15 minutes. "They both went to Harvard, so they kind of expect us to get into the Ivy League too."

"I see. When did you feel the pressure start to get overwhelming?"

A moment clicked in Katie's head, one that had always seemed to define her drive in school.

"Well, I remember when I was in third grade," She started, "We'd just gotten our report cards. Third grade is the first year you actually get letter grades. I got six 'A's and one 'B'. My parents both said they were so proud of me and of course I believed them. I was going to their bedroom that evening to say goodnight, but I heard them talking so I stopped to listen. They were talking about how I could've gotten a 'B'. I realized later in life that they thought the teacher calculated my grade wrong and they needed to talk to her, but as a nine-year-old, I assumed they thought I was stupid. That 'B's weren't good enough. So I went to bed without saying anything. And ever since then I can remember never ever wanting to get a 'B' in my life again. Never getting a 'B' is hard work. Almost impossible in high school. I had to study. A lot. I would stay up really late to study but I kept falling asleep. My friend Ally told me about Ritalin pills she was using for the same reason – they help you stay up late to study. So that's why I started using them. To study. To not get a 'B'."

Ella scanned the shoes into the computer and then picked up a cylindrical spray.

"Sir, when I was assisting you with your shoes, I noticed a strong odor coming from your feet. Would you care to try some of our new foot odor neutralizer?"

Josh smiled and laughed. "No thanks, miss."

Ella nodded, smiling to herself. "Seriously, sir, you have a problem. This one's on the house. For your daughter's sake." She finished checking them out and handed Josh the bag.

"Thank you, come again." She smiled.

"Bye." They called back in unison. They left the store and sat on a bench just outside the doors to wait for Ella to get off. Five minutes later, Ella burst through the doors.

"Oh, God! I hate my job." She complained.

Josh and Audrey stood up.

"You're so talented, though, Ella." Josh teased as he put his arm around her neck and playfully strangled her and then let her go as they walked through the mall to the doors.

"Hi, Mr. Lyman. Hi Audrey." Ella greeted them.

"How's my favorite shoe salesman been? I haven't seen you forever." Josh asked her.

"Maybe you shouldn't ground Audrey so much, then."

"You'll have to help her with that." He retorted. Ella smiled at Audrey, both knowing about english class that day as she reached the mall doors.

Josh had ordered four pizzas a while ago, knowing teenage girls had large appetites. Josh reluctantly sat in the back seat of Audrey's Honda Accord with Ella in the passenger seat as they drove to Papa John's. My, this felt weird, he thought to himself. He sat silently and listened as the girls rambled on about their days, about what teachers sucked and who said what to who and who wore what. He marveled at how quickly the girls changed from sounding like little girls in their conversations into women in a matter of a few seconds, talking about the newest Skittles flavors and then their precalculus homework.

They arrived at the Lyman household around 6:00. Donna and Katie had gotten home just a few minutes earlier after a silent and cold ride home. Katie felt a little better, but the session had also stirred up some previously suppressed feelings and memories about her family, her mother especially. She stayed in her room until she heard her father's warm voice and smelled the sweet Papa John's pizza asking her to come out. Katie wasn't too excited about Audrey having her three best girlfriends over. She didn't mind Ella, Bailey and Lana, but she'd rather have a quiet night to herself. The two other girls arrived moments later and soon there were paper plates and liters of soda out on the kitchen counter amongst excited voices and girly giggling. Katie went to stand by her father, who put his arm around her and snuggly hugged her and kissed her on the head, knowing she'd probably had a session that had stirred up some feelings. He wanted to be there for whatever she needed. After all, he knew what therapy could bring up after going through it himself.

"Come get your pizza, you tub of lard!" Audrey told Ella in her best Napoleon Dynamite voice.

"Audrey Elizabeth Lyman!" Josh scolded her. "Mind your language."

"Ella, how many pieces of pizza can you have and how much soda? Have you worked it into your meal plan?" Donna asked her. Ella had Type One Diabetes and had to keep a close eye on what she ate. When she'd lived with the Lymans for two months last year, Donna and Josh had become experts with the disorder. Ella had to keep her blood sugar between about 80 and 200. They'd also kept a spare AccuCheck in their home for testing and learned how to work it. As a teen who had lived with the disorder since she was seven, Ella was pretty self-regulating, but the Lymans would rather be safe instead of sorry. The Lymans had known Ella for almost her entire life. The girls met in preschool and had been attached at the hips ever since. They'd been there during the scary hours when Ella became desperately ill as her blood sugar climbed up to 2000. That's when her parents had found out she had Diabetes. Over the years, they'd had a few scares, but it was mostly under control.

"I can have two pieces." She said, swallowing down a mouthful. "And I think I'll just have some water to drink."

"Smart choice." Donna said. They had a long history with Ella. Her parents got divorced five years ago and her father quickly moved across the country to California. Ella was an only child, so she was left alone with her mother, whom she'd never particularly gotten along with. Their relationship had worsened as Ella reached her teen years and not having a father around didn't help. The Lymans offered to take her in for a few months to give mother and daughter space from one another. Josh and Donna had grown even closer to her then, and Ella had become almost a third daughter to them. Ella had especially taken to Josh, clinging to any sort of male role model in her life.

The telephone rang and the adults sighed at the interruption.

"I'll get it!" Ella called. She still answered the phone even though she didn't live there anymore.

"Hello?" She asked and listened. Josh and Donna watched her out of the corner of their eyes, expecting for one of them to be called to the phone. Ella stood and listened intently to the voice on the other end of the line. Then she hopped up onto the counter, crossed her legs, and got a mischievous grin on her face. Donna and Josh looked at one another, both knowing what was ahead.

"Hewwo?" She repeated, changing her voice so she sounded three years old. That got her friends' attention. They all smiled, knowing what she was up to. Another pause.

"Do you have a belly button?" She asked in her silly voice. They all started laughing, trying to suppress the sound. It was a telemarketer. And Ella loved to mess with telemarketers. Another pause. Ella moved her eyebrows, as if intrigued by the conversation.

"I'm three." She said. More giggles from the audience.

"No, mommy and daddy are in their room with the door closed. Daddy said he's gonna give mommy some lovin'." They all burst out laughing, but Ella kept a straight face.

"Okay. Bye bye." She hung up. The room erupted in laughter again at the ending of the performance. They could always count on Ella for a good laugh. Ella smiled, pleased with herself.

"You push me over the edge." Donna said.

After dinner was over and the plates were cleared, Audrey and "the three stooges", as the group was affectionately called, headed off to Audrey's room. Katie didn't quite feel like joining the fun and went off to her room to read. Josh and Donna let her be for a while, but they discussed the day as they cuddled on the couch watching TV.

"I think Dr. Hampton brought back up some hard feelings." Donna told Josh. Josh was laying behind her on the couch as they both faced the TV straight ahead.

"What hard feelings?"

Donna gave him an, 'oh come on' look and so he continued. "I mean, yeah, she's always been under pressure, but we never beat her or verbally abused her or anything."

"Pressure is a tough thing for a teenage girl, Josh. You've gotta understand that."

Josh kissed Donna's cheek and clasped his left hand over hers and supported his head with his other.

"I know. I'm a bastard." He admitted.

Donna looked back at him. Josh had softened up a lot after they'd had the girls. He was a little calmer and a little more in touch with others' feelings. Well, as much as a politician could be.

"Oh, Josh, shut up. She needs some help. And she's getting it."

"Yeah." He agreed. Josh kissed her cheek again. His kisses moved slowly over to her ear, then her neck as his hands began to roam also.

"Josh, stop." Donna told him. "There are five teenage girls in the house and we are in the living room."

Josh groaned.

"I'll keep my hands above the clothes." He offered a compromise.

"Josh, you're pitiful." She told him.

"That's why you love me." Josh said as his mouth covered hers.

Katie lay on her bed contently reading the latest installment of The Princess Diaries novels, her favorite series. Reading had always been her escape ever since she knew how. There was something about the way the black ink and letters danced across the page; the feeling of the paper beneath her fingers; the smell of fresh pages when she walked into a bookstore. She would stay up late as a little girl after her parents had put her to bed reading under the covers with a flashlight. All they had to do to punish her as a little girl was to take away whatever book she had been reading. That was torture enough for the bookworm. So she escaped this Friday evening from her stressful week of school, after being discovered of her Ritalin abuse habit. She was slowly de-toxing, and pain regularly shot through her body. Advil helped a little but she still felt the pain. Katie heard her sister and her friends giggling in the next room as they sorted through an assortment of different songs, trying to decide what to do for the talent show. Perhaps if she wasn't de-toxing she would join them, but not tonight. But part of her still wanted to.

A light knock on her door.

"Can I come in, baby?" She heard her father ask.

A smile crept across her face.

"Yeah." She quickly called back, setting her book down across her stomach.

Josh walked in and closed the door. He sat down on the bed next to his daughter.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked, picking up the book. "The Princess Diaries? You still read this crap?"

"It's not crap. It's chick lit."

"It's chick shit." He exercised some rare profanity in front of his daughter, laying the book back down on her bedside table. Katie punched him, but not with much force, showing evidence of her body's weakness.

"So, how did your meeting with Dr. Hampton go?" He asked, patting her knee in encouragement.

"It was fine. He seems nice." She looked up at him.

Josh nodded for a few moments before saying anything.

"Did he bring up anything that upset you?"

"No, not really." She looked away, a telling sign that she was lying. Josh studied her face.

"He did, didn't he?" Josh guessed. Katie slowly returned her eyes to his before nodding ever-so-slightly. "That's what therapists do, Katie. And it's hard. Especially the first time. Remember, I've been through it, too."

Katie nodded again but didn't speak. She felt tears burning in the back of her eyes, but she didn't want her dad to think it was bothering her that much. But it was hard. Katie closed her eyes momentarily to keep from crying, but it wasn't working very well. She put the heels of her palms in her eyes and rubbed them as she felt the tears threatening to spill over.

"Katie…" She heard his body shift to sit closer to her. She kept her head down as she quickly sat up and threw her arms around his neck.

"It's so hard!" She cried into his shoulder. Josh just held on to her tight and stroked her hair as he let her cry.

"I know it, baby. Just let it out." And she did.

"I just want it to go away." She sobbed. "And my body hurts so bad and I just want the pain to go away!" Katie just cried for about five minutes, tired from the de-toxing, from school, from hiding her problem, and now from trying to fix it. It was all just too much. Finally, Josh felt her breathing return to normal as she became quiet. He carefully pulled her away and she started to wipe her eyes.

"Hey. You shouldn't be in your room all alone. Come on out and watch some TV with your dorky parents. Whaddaya say?" He suggested, trying to look at her eyes.

Katie didn't respond for a few seconds but then nodded slightly.

"Okay, good." Josh took her hand and brought Katie to her feet. "Bring your blanket so you'll be cozy." He suggested. Katie grabbed the quilt that sat neatly folded at the foot of her bed as Josh walked to and stopped at the door. As she turned around, a frown painted her face a pale color, and she kept her eyes on the ground. She walked out and her father followed behind her.

Donna saw Katie from the corner of her eye.

"Hey, sweetheart." She greeted. "Come to join us?" Donna figured she was by the blanket and Josh's face.

"There's plenty of room." Donna smiled. "We'll make a Katie sandwich." She suggested the ritual they used on Katie as a little girl whenever she felt bad. "The Cosby Show is on!"

The Cosby Show was one of Katie's favorite TV shows. She'd only ever seen it as reruns since it aired before she could really watch.

"Docta Huxtable!" She exclaimed.

"We can eat us some Jello pudding while we watch!" Josh said in his best Dr. Huxtable impression.

"Let's not and say we did." Katie suggested, mortified by his impression. He wasn't funny.

Josh, Donna and Katie watched the show with Katie snug in the middle of her parents. Katie laughed at the show but still her heart didn't seem into it. She enjoyed hanging out with her parents every once in a while, but not on a Friday night. What a dork, she thought to herself. At a commercial break, Katie got up to use the bathroom and Donna took the opportunity to seize a moment for her daughter.

Donna quickly got up from the couch, not explaining anything to Josh and headed towards Audrey's room. She didn't knock and walked into the room and pulled Audrey out away from her friends, taking her into Katie's room.

"Mom, what the hell are you doing?" A confused Audrey asked her mother.

"Audrey, I need to ask you a favor."

"What!"

"Katie really needs a little fun. She's been watching TV with us, but I really think she needs to goof around a little bit. Can you help us out?"

"What, so you and dad can make out on the couch? Bailey saw you. You're disgusting."

"She did?" Donna asked, embarrassed. "Oh. Well, no, that's not the reason. I think this could really help her, you know? Spice up her life a little."

Audrey rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'll try." She said, meekly.

"Thank you so much, Audrey." Donna hugged her daughter.

"What would you do without me?"

Audrey went back to her friends and Donna back to her husband. Donna had an amused look on her face.

"What? What did you say?" Josh asked her.

"No more make out sessions in public, Captain Love."

"Why not?" He looked worried.

"We had a non-consensual audience."

Josh made a disgusted look. "Oops." He said innocently.

"Yeah. Oops. Keep your hands to yourself." Donna sat down next to him and then inched her way down the sofa away from him.

"We can't even sit together?"

"You can't be trusted, Joshua Lyman."

"Damn right. I'm married to a beautiful goddess."

Just then, Katie emerged from the bathroom. She was about to pass her sister's room when all of a sudden, the door opened letting hideous music pour out and a hand, presumably Audrey's, snatched her into the room. The door quickly shut again and giggles ensued.

Josh looked over at his wife. "Did you tell Audrey to kidnap Katie?"

"I might have." She admitted, "She needs a little fun."

"Hey, Katie!" Several of the girls chimed at once. Audrey had told them to be upbeat and nice, not that they didn't like her. But she was known for being a bit of a stick in the mud.

"Hey, guys." Katie smiled and waved nervously and then put her hands behind her back politely. The foursome were sitting on the floor or Audrey's bed with music playing in the background. Lana was eating peanut butter out of a jar. Disgusting.

Audrey rolled her eyes, seeing that her sister was uncomfortable. She had no reason to be. She was in her own house with her sister, adoptive sister, and two of Audrey's best friends.

"Oh my God, Katie, sit down!" She told her impatiently. Audrey shot her a look to tell her to calm down and get a grip.

"So, Katie," Bailey started. "We're still trying to decide on a song. You in?"

Katie looked around nervously and she was obviously not prepared for this and felt very uncomfortable at the thought.

"What? I'm not in the dance. I'm just hanging out for a while, I guess."

"Oh, come on, Katie." She bribed. "You have to be in it with us. Five is so much better than four. All the great groups have five."

"Uhhhh….."

"She's in." Audrey decided for her. Katie shot her a 'don't you dare' look and Audrey shot her back a 'shut up and loosen up a little' look.

Finally, Katie agreed. "Okay, I'm in." She didn't sound very convincing, but the outpouring of glee made her feel a little better. She couldn't tell if they were just being nice or if they were really glad she was joining them. She'd taken ballet classes all her life, but that was drastically different from the presumably ho-dance they would be performing.

"Okay, so here's what we've got it narrowed down to." Lana began, "Justin Timberlake 'Like I Love You', Gwen Stefani 'Hollaback Girl', Petey Pablo 'Freek-a-Leak', and Usher 'Yeah'. Any of those sound good?"

No, she thought to herself but was pretty sure she shouldn't say it out loud.

"Mom and dad will never let us do 'Freek-a-Leak', Audrey, it's a friggin' sex song."

"Yeah, that's what we were thinking." Audrey admitted.

"I guess Gwen would be my choice." Katie said.

"Well, should we take a vote?" Ella suggested.

"Yeah." They all said in unison.

"Alright, close all your damn eyes." Ella said.

She went through all the song choices and Gwen prevailed.

"'Hollaback Girl' it is." Ella announced.

"I'm gonna go get some more to eat before we start." Lana announced and got up.

"Oh my GOD!" Audrey said in her Napoleon Dynamite voice again.

"Shut your piehole." Lana snapped back. As she left, Audrey said something.

"She's seriously gonna get huge someday when her metabolism slows down."

"Audrey," Ella started, "You need to re-highlight your hair soon. You're totally getting the black crack."

Audrey took a piece of her hair in her hand and looked at it, disgusted. "I know. I'm still saving up my allowance."

"Oh my God." Bailey said. "Your parents are so strict. They make you pay for your hair with your own allowance?"

Both girls nodded in agreement.

"Well, we get $40 a week, but Audrey always blows it on stupid crap."

"At least I don't spend it on books." She made fun of her sister. "Dork."

"Did they find out about what happened in english today yet?"

"No, not yet." Audrey took a sip of Mountain Dew and shook her head dismissively. "I don't care. I'm always in trouble for something anyway. Katie, you haven't ratted me out, have you?" She looked at her sister questioningly.

"No!" She said, insulted. Katie was known as the goody-goody and had turned her sister in before because of a guilty conscience. She'd covered for her plenty of times, but she never heard about that.

Lana walked back in with a bag of cookies.

"You guys want some cookies?" She said in her best Corky Romano voice. They liked to quote movies.

"Lana, seriously, that's lame." Bailey told her. Lana shrugged and popped a cookie in her mouth.

"Were my parents making out again?" Audrey asked her.

"No. They were being good. They were laughing at some paper they were reading."

"They're so revolting." Audrey said. "I swear, they're always all over each other, aren't they Katie?"

"I guess." Katie said, uncomfortable with the topic. She was feeling a little sick again, but didn't want to leave and be accused of being a dork. She knew Audrey would defend her, but still. Katie was a teenager and what others thought of her was important.

"Bailey, we totally need to do your eyebrows." Ella told her. Ella was the beauty expert. She knew all the secrets and tricks and liked to test her skills out on her unwilling friends. Ella wanted to be a makeup artist for the movie stars one day.

"Last time you left me, like, five eyebrow hairs on each brow." Bailey reported hesitantly.

"Oh, I'm so much better now!" She said, insulted. "Aren't I so much better, Audrey?"

"Whatever you say, Ella."

"Get the wax." Ella said.

"I'll go get it." Katie volunteered, wanting to get out of the room for a few minutes. She went into the girls' vanity center and found the tub of wax in one of their many caboodles. Katie walked out to the kitchen to put the wax in the microwave and checked on her parents.

"Hi mom. Hi dad." She said. Lana was right. They were giggling pretty hard at something.

"Hey, Katie." Her mother said, still laughing. "How's it going in there?"

"Okay, I guess." She pressed start on the microwave and rested a hand on her hip. "Mom, did you put Audrey up to this?"

"You looked like you needed a little fun."

"Thanks, mom, now I'm stuck doing a ho-dance in the New School of Northern Virginia Talent Show."

Donna turned around. "That's great, honey. You'll love it!"

"Probably not." She said. Their type of dancing didn't exactly thrill her.

"You'll be great." Donna told her again. "You've got dance training."

"Yeah, ballet. It's a bit different from the music videos I'm sure it will be based on."

The microwave beeped.

"Well, I'm off again." She said, removing the wax with a towel. As she walked past the couch, she glanced over their shoulders, but Donna quickly turned the paper over. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing." Josh said, but his face was red from laughter.

"Whatever."

Katie reached her sister's bedroom again and closed the door behind her.

"Something's really funny." She commented as she set the wax on the floor.

"Who knows. They're friggin' politicians. Their sense of humor is questionable." Audrey said.

"All right, lie down." Ella ordered Bailey as she sat on the floor, legs crossed, and gripped the wax.

Bailey made the sign of the cross as she layed down and rested her head in Ella's lap.

"Oh, please! Spare me!" Ella complained. Bailey giggled and rubbed her eyebrows a little, not knowing if this would be the last time she'd feel them. If Ella screwed up, she could always draw her eyebrows back on.

Ella began to meticulously apply the wax to Bailey's left eyebrow.

Audrey stood up, wanting to get on with the dance.

"Okay, so how should we start out?" She asked. "We should start with the q-tip." She joked, mimicking the movement. Lana threw a pillow at her, which took Audrey by surprise.

"Ow!" She said, falling to the floor, pretending to be hurt.

"Tell me when you're going to rip it off." Bailey said nervously to the girl who had control of her level of facial discomfort.

"When you know, it hurts more." Ella told her. "It's better to take you by surprise." She put a piece of paper over the wax and patted it down gently.

"I'll pee my pants."

"You fuckin' better not. You'll buy me a new carpet." Audrey told her while testing out some dance moves. Gwen Stefani's 'Hollaback Girl' was now on repeat in her stereo.

A knock at the door.

"What?" She yelled over the music, annoyed. What did they want now? They all turned to see Josh walk in the room. Ella took the opportunity to rip the paper off Bailey's eyebrow in this moment of surprise.

"Ow! Fuck!" She screamed.

Josh looked down at Bailey with a surprised but amused look on his face.

"Sorry, Mr. Lyman." Bailey apologized.

"That's okay, I understand." He corrected himself, "Actually, no I don't and I hope I never do."

"What do you want, dad?" Audrey tried to hurry him along.

"Will you turn down the music? If that's what it is?" He asked her.

"It's called rap, dad." Audrey told him.

"The only difference between rap and crap is the 'c'." He told them, hands in his pockets as usual.

Audrey looked at him, mortified. "That was beautiful, dad. What do you want?"

"Right. Two things. Ella, are you feeling okay? Blood sugar all right?" Josh knew she was pretty self-regulating but they tended to get a little rambunctious at sleepovers and she tended to forget or ignore her symptoms altogether amidst all the excitement.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ella told him as she examined her 'handiwork' on her victim.

"Do you need us to help you check? We've still got the spare AccuCheck." Josh told her.

"No thanks, Mr. Lyman. I'm fine, really."

"Okay. Keep a close tab on yourself, all right?"

"All right." She prepared her victim for the second eyebrow.

"I don't think I want my second one done. That was really painful." Bailey told her.

"You have to match!" Ella moaned. "You'll look like a fuckin' ape." She said. She quickly covered her mouth. "Oops! Sorry, Mr. Lyman."

Josh chuckled. "It's okay. Audrey, I need to talk to you outside for a minute." He pointed to the door with his thumb. He was smiling, so the girls weren't quite sure how to read the situation. Audrey got up and left the room and her father followed.

"Let's go sit on the couch." He said, gesturing with his hand.

"Why?" He didn't answer but followed her over until she was sitting. Donna took the opportunity to stand up as Josh stood next to her. Josh pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket.

"What's this?" He held it up and his eyebrows jumped in question.

"What's what?"

"E-mail from Mrs. Taylor."

Audrey dropped her head to hide her smile.

"Audrey, what the hell were you thinking?" Donna asked her, placing her hands on her hips.

Audrey slapped her legs. "It was a golden opportunity, mom. You don't know what degree of hell she puts us through every day. She had it coming to her in spades!"

"Audrey, just because someone's an ass doesn't give you an excuse to humiliate them." Said Josh.

"Coming from the mouth of a politician who does so every day." Audrey said, smartly. This is when Josh and Donna wished they'd chosen another profession, because what she said was true. It was part of politics. Plus, Josh was as arrogant as hell sometimes, so he was even worse.

"You've just got a mouthful of smart-ass today, don't you? I'm in politics. You're in high school. There's a difference. You are to treat your teachers with respect, Audrey."

Audrey shook her head dismissively. "Whatever, dad."

"You are to apologize to her personally on Monday, you understand?" Josh ordered her.

"Okaaaaay…" She said, getting up. Audrey assumed she'd be grounded again starting tomorrow and waited for her father to tell her so as she walked to her room, but it never came. Huh….that's unusual, she thought to herself.

What Audrey didn't know was that the e-mail was what her parents had been laughing at the entire half-hour before Josh came to her room. They thought it was totally hilarious, but they had to compose themselves before they went to face their daughter. Josh had actually tried to enter the room three times before he actually did but had to turn around because he started laughing again. He didn't have the heart to ground her. That was his girl. Mrs. Taylor was a bitch from what he'd heard.

As soon as Audrey's door closed, Josh and Donna burst into laughter again.

"Oh, that was classic!" he said, his cheeks hurting from laughter.

"We need to write that one down."

Audrey walked in with a smug look on her face.

"What was that all about?" Bailey asked. Her eyebrows now matched, as well as the red spots around them from being violently ripped.

"They found out about english. Dad got an email from Mrs. Taylor."

All attention was focused on Audrey now.

"What did they say?" Ella asked, her eyes wide in interest.

"I have to apologize on Monday."

"Oh bummer." Lana said. "I could never apologize to that bitch." Lana had never even had her, but her reputation preceded her.

"So are you grounded?" Ella asked.

"No." She chirped.

"What!" Katie yelled. "That's a first."

"I think they thought it was funny." Audrey commented.

"That's probably what they were laughing about before." Katie put two and two together.

All the girls chimed simultaneously, "Ooooohhhhh…"

"Damn, Katie, what did you get on your SATs?" Ella asked.

"1540. You?"

"Nail polish."

"All right." Audrey interrupted. "We need to go to the mall and get ourselves some matching tanktops!" She announced enthusiastically.

"Woo hoo!" Lana yelled.

"I'm driving!" Audrey claimed. "Katie's got shotgun." She called for her sister, knowing she'd feel uncomfortable crammed in the back seat with two of her idiotic friends.

The fivesome quickly put on their shoes and headed out the bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" Donna asked.

"To the mall to get matching tank tops. Can I have some extra money?" Audrey asked hopefully.

"No." Josh and Donna said simultaneously.

"And Audrey, be responsible. Don't get crazy, okay?" Josh had seen how giddy the girls could get together and didn't want them to do anything stupid.

"Okay, dad, we'll be responsible, mmmmmkay?" She mocked.

What a smart-ass, Josh thought to himself and he shot her a serious look. Audrey smiled back.

"We'll be back in an hour…or more." Ella called as they walked out the garage door.

The five girls piled into the car with the twins in the front and the other three in the back seat. The seatbelts went on because they knew Mr. and Mrs. Lyman would be watching from the house.

"All right, bitches, here we go." Audrey said as they pulled out the driveway. The stereo went up as Ryan Adams' 'Everything I Do' came on, one of their favorite songs to mock.

"You know it's true!" They all mocked, holding their air-mics, "Everything I do! I do it for you!"

"And we're continuing the evening with our '90s flashback all night tonight. Next up, Britney Spears' 'Baby One More Time'." The radio personality announced.

"Oh, oh, oh!" They all screamed as Audrey reached for the volume. Audrey and Katie had made up a ridiculous twin dance back in '98 when the song was a hit, when the girls were eleven years old. They actually thought it was really good when they were ten and had been rooted on by their parents who thought it was adorable. Now, as sixteen year olds, they realized how ridiculous it was which made it that more hilarious when they milked it for all it was worth.

The whole car was dancing except for Katie, who curled up in embarrassment in the passenger seat.

"Oh, Katie, Katie!" Audrey yelled with Britney. They'd changed all the 'baby, baby's to each other's names when they made up their act.

"Oh, Katie, Katie, how was I supposed to know," She sang, "That something wasn't right here? Oh, Katie, Katie, I shouldn't have let you go-o-o-o-o" She exaggerated the notes and danced the best she could strapped in with a seatbelt trying to drive. "And now you're out of sight, yeah."

The back row joined in at the pre-chorus.

"Show me how you want it to be!" They sang. "Tell me Katie…" they all performed Britney's famous shimmy, finally causing Katie to burst out laughing, "Cuz I need to know now oh because…."

"My loneliness is killing me!" Audrey sang.

"And I!" The back row echoed.

"I must confess I still believe!"

"Still believe!"

"When I'm not with you, I lose my mind. Give me a sign! Hit me, Katie, one more time!" She pretended to slap Katie across the face after 'time', who was now red with laughter. The back row raised the roof on the same note.

"Oh Audrey, Audrey" Katie finally joined, and everyone cheered her on. "The reason I breathe is you. Girl, you've got me blinded!"

"Oh pretty Audrey/Katie, there's nothing that I wouldn't do." They both sang to each other over-exuberantly. "It's not the way I planned it."

"Show me how you want it to be! Tell me Katie/Audrey" (shimmy) "Cuz I need to know now oh because…"

The entire car sang the chorus, in between giggles. They finished the song in style, giving themselves a round of applause. Katie looked over at her big sister, laughing. She hadn't felt this happy in a long time. Audrey and her friends really were the antidote for an aching body. Katie took a deep breath and finally knew she was going to be okay with Audrey by her side.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The five girls had a giddy time strolling around the mall to pick out matching outfits for the talent show. They toured several stores while also "boy hunting". They finally settled on matching white halter-tops that had a tiny keyhole at the sternum. Ella jokingly donned them the "finger my hole" shirts, and the name stuck. Excitedly, the girls also spotted Galen Morris shopping with a few buddies that night also. The girls giggled like they were nine years old, apart from Katie, who thought Galen was a creep. While their faces were turned away, Katie thought she saw Galen wink at her. Asshole. He couldn't have done that. Katie just brushed it off as a miscommunication.

The fivesome diligently rehearsed their number, Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" that night (into the wee hours of the morning, which Josh and Donna appreciated very much) and into the school week. Each day after school and other practices, they gathered in the Lyman living room and went over each step, count by count, until they felt they were in sync enough to perform on Friday. Donna and Josh had, of course, been their unwilling audience all week, critiquing what they could, but mostly saying, "Yeah, nice job," while in the backs of their minds going "Oh dear God, please make this stop!".

On Friday afternoon, the girls assembled for one last dress rehearsal run through at the Lyman house. Taking over the living room and torturing the stereo, they shimmied, turned, and pop-locked their way through the routine as Josh, Donna, a few of the girls' friends, and unfortunately, Galen watched. Josh kept a stern pupil locked on Galen out of the corner of his eye. He stood there, with a disturbing smirk on his face and bobbing his head like an idiot. Josh didn't like the way he was looking at Audrey or….Katie? Why was he looking at Katie? Creep.

The group seemed to have the routine down pat and the small audience applauded and whistled at the performance.

"I think we've got it, girls!" Lana announced. They hugged each other in relief that everything seemed to be falling into place.

"So now we can friggin' relax for a few minutes!" Ella suggested loudly as she collapsed on to the couch.

"Just don't forget the first 'It's my shit' of each verse is the body roll, and the second is the body popping." Audrey reminded Katie. Katie was more than nervous about the performance. She was a ballet girl, not a hip-hop music ho dancer. It just didn't seem to fit at first, but she thought she'd been slowly improving. Katie had a certain reputation around school of keeping low and being a bit of a goody-two-shoes. This would blow them away!

Galen settled on the couch next to Audrey, putting his arm around her. That is, until he saw Josh shoot him a protective father glare from across the room. As casually as possible, he retrieved his arm, placing it on his lap. Audrey got up to get some water from the kitchen.

"Get me a Coke, would you?" Galen requested with a slight detection of edict in his voice. Donna looked over at him from where she was sitting on a chair, slightly disturbed by his tone. She had started to not like the kid lately. He seemed to crowd Audrey and order her around sometimes, like he had just done. Galen gave her a creepy vibe that was somewhat reminiscent of "Dr. Freeride" as Josh referred to him. Scott, an ex-boyfriend from years ago, had treated Donna less than admirably. Ever since, her mom radar had been scanning every boy her daughters encountered, searching for any hint of Scott in any of their acquaintances. Galen was sending out some major bad signals to her at the moment.

"Sure." She smiled back at him as she strolled to the kitchen, with a pep in her step. Donna knew Audrey was crazy about him. Though she didn't want to break her heart by telling Audrey what she really thought, she also didn't want her to have to go through the heartbreak and suffering she'd experienced over twenty years ago. Amazing how creeps pop up in all times in history. And then there were guys like her husband, who could sweep a girl off her feet. Donna kept her eyes open for this type also in her daughters' friends.

Donna turned her attention back to the girls.

"Ella, baby?" She called her adoptive daughter.

"Yeah?" She spun around from another conversation.

"Don't forget to drink a Gatorade or something before you perform. We don't want you passing out and having to deliver some fast-acting glucagon."

"I know, Mrs. Lyman. I won't forget." She turned her attention back to her friends. Ella's diabetes had gotten out of hand only a few times when she was in the Lymans' care. They'd injected insulin two or three times over the last ten years or so. Ella was fine as long as she paid attention to her body. It was times like this when she tended to forget.

Though the Lymans loved going to see their daughters in recitals, sports games, and cross country meets, there was always that chance that some asshole who thought he knew everything about politics would ruin their evening. He (or she – but normally he) would recognize Josh or Donna from TV and decide to take it upon himself to instruct one of them how to vote on issues and how to do their jobs. Unfortunately, so was the case that night at the talent show. Josh and Donna had walked into the room only seconds before when a decidedly evil-looking man walked up to them.

"Josh and Donna Lyman, right?" he smiled, putting out his hand.

Josh bravely shook his hand as he felt a pit in his stomach. Just what he needed tonight. But he had to be polite. "Yes, sir. And you are…"

"Richard Miller…"

"Well, Dick," Josh called him a name while still being civil, "It's really nice to meet you, but we need to find our seats." Donna hooked her arm with her husband's and they tried to walk away from the uneasy situation.

"Wait, wait." He put an oppressive hand on Josh's. "You got kids who go here?"

"Yes, we do. Now, if you'll excuse us…"

"No, no, no." Dick wasn't going to let them go just yet. "So, you fought for a public education bill a few years back and you send your kids to a private school? Talk about hypocrisy! What about the rest of the country who don't have any other options? I mean," he chuckled, "I work two jobs to send my son here."

Donna looked away, knowing this was going to tick Josh off. She hoped her husband wouldn't make a scene of it.

"Sir, it was just a decision that…"

Donna interrupted him, knowing Josh was probably about to say something really stupid as he always did when someone crossed a certain line.

"Mr. Miller," Donna started, and Josh immediately turned his attention to his beautiful wife, her hair delicately held in place with a hair clip, "Thank you so much for your candor. We didn't decide to send our two daughters here because it is a private school. As two people in the public eye, we wanted to send our girls to a school with an understanding and supportive community. NSNV seemed like a perfect fit, and as I'm sure you understand, having a son of your own, how important it is for your child to go to school that is nonjudgmental and accepting of all families. Thank you so much for demonstrating that tonight. Good evening."

Donna tugged on her husband's arm, pulling him away from the man, who had transformed into an open-mouthed idiot with nothing worthwhile to say back. Josh smirked back at him, as if his big sister had just beat up a bully for him. That's my girl, Josh thought to himself. Just when Josh thought he knew everything there was to know about his wife, she blew him away with something new like she'd just done. Not that he didn't know she had excellent argumentative skills, but she never ceased to amaze him.

"Who's da woman?" she said in a quiet victory to her husband.

"You are, baby." Josh kissed her cheek. "You are."

The girls were to be the fifth act to perform out of about fifteen. The acts were mixed, with some students dancing, singing, and doing stand-up. They sat patiently through a couple horrible acts, accented by one girl's horrible misinterpretation of an interpretive dance. Josh and Donna counted their blessings that Katie and Audrey hadn't gone down that route.

Finally, it was time for the fabulous five. They took their formation on the stage, all matching in dark blue hipster jeans and the "finger my hole" halter tops. All five girls had their hair pulled back in a messy bun, with a matching white elastic headband to hold it back.

The judging committee, which consisted of almost entirely football players, looked pretty enthralled as the girls performed their over-rehearsed, zealous dance number, throwing themselves around gracefully and perfectly in-sync. They'd been holding back while rehearsing. Perhaps it was the excitement of performing for their peers, but all five seemed to put a little extra zest into their movements. They were especially blown away by Katie's surprisingly excellent "ho-dancing" skills. She'd been falling back on her ballet training (though she was never too good at that, either), pointing her toes when she shouldn't and posing her arms in such a way that seemed out of place. But now, she was really blowing the others away. Josh's eye caught Galen in the second row, gazing up at the girls. By golly, he was staring at Katie again. What the hell is that ass trying to pull? What a hair-do.

After their huge finish, Josh and Donna rose to their feet, cheering and hollering for the five girls. They'd done an amazing job having only pulled it together in a week.

As the clapping died down, Josh whispered to his wife.

"I don't like that Galen kid, Donna. And I'm not just being overprotective."

"I know, Josh. He's starting to give me the creeps too."

"Did you see him just now? And at our house?"

"He was looking at Katie." Donna stated, having observed the same things as Josh. "And I didn't like the way he was doing it."

"Remind you of anyone?" Josh asked, knowing his wife would know he was talking about Dr. Freeride.

Donna gave him an unhappy smile in agreement as they sat back down in their seats.

"We need to talk to Audrey, I think." Donna told Josh.

"You can. She won't listen to me." Josh said, speaking what they both knew was the truth. If it was important, they knew Donna was the one to handle it with Audrey, and Josh with Katie.

Donna sighed, not wanting to have the conversation.

The girls managed to secure third place that night, losing only to a comedic performance of Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" and some phenom girl who belted out a Whitney Houston song like she was Whitney herself. Josh and Donna managed to squeeze through the crowd to congratulate their daughters and their friends.

"Mom! Dad!" Katie called out as she spotted them inches their way through the crowd.

Josh reached her first. "Hey, honey! You were great! You really came out of your shell tonight. We were so proud of you." He hugged her, but decided not give her the kiss he wanted to on her head in public. He'd never hear the end of that. Donna went to Audrey and Ella who were standing nearby, all smiles.

"I can't believe we actually got third place." Katie exclaimed. Of course, if it was up to Josh, they'd have won, hands down.

"You should've gotten first. Dumbass judges." He smiled.

"Dad, is it okay if we go celebrate a little? On our own?" She clarified. It was tradition in the Lyman household to all go out for ice cream after a dance recital, but Josh guessed she was feeling a little too old for that. It hurt, but it was just one of the painful steps in letting them go.

"Yeah, sure honey." He agreed. Katie could detect a hint of disappointment in her father's voice.

"We can have some ice cream when we get home, okay?" She suggested, reading him like a book.

"That's likely. I'll probably be long fast asleep." He pointed out. They managed to fall asleep around ten these days. Not quite kicking it anymore.

Katie smiled at him and he instantly forgave her.

"Okay, well don't get home too late. Twelve o'clock curfew, okay? And don't do anything crazy."

Katie rolled her eyes. "I know, dad. We'll be responsible." She promised him.

Josh and Donna managed to pry themselves from the girls and headed for the door. They both saw Galen going over to congratulate them on their way out, once again reminding them of his scandalous prowl of their daughters.

The girls finally got the hell out of the school gym and were about to pile into Katie and Audrey's car, glad-handing each other. As they neared the car, they discovered that Galen and his friends had apparently beat them there and playfully vandalized their car. Written on the car were phrases like, "Hollaback girl driving" and "Honk if you love hos".

"Those fucking fuckers!" Audrey yelled. "This shit better come off!"

"Relax, Audrey," Ella told her. "It's wash-off." She chipped some of the paint off with her fingernail.

"Those ass chuggers are going to pay." Audrey was immediately in a retaliatory mood, and the rest of the group joined her as they got in the car.

A smile crept across four faces, all but Katie's. Soon after, a collective evil laugh swept over the car-full of hormone-driven teens.

"Audrey." Katie shot her sister a look from the passenger seat. Katie felt her word meant something and didn't want to break the promise she'd just made to her dad. She had a feeling she was definitely the minority in this situation. Audrey was in another one of her dangerous moods and her friends were just egging her on.

"Oh, Katie, it's all in good fun." Audrey dismissed her sister.

"What's the matter, Katie?" Ella piped from the middle of the back seat.

"I just don't want it to go overboard, that's all." She told them. Plus, she didn't want to be anywhere near the boy. Ever since he sort of winked at her at the mall last week, she'd gotten an odd vibe from him. Tonight, she caught him staring at her while they were doing their dance.

"Katie, you worry too much." Audrey told her. "We're just going to have a little fun. Now what are we going to do?"

The girls carefully devised a plan to get the guys, intoxicated in giddiness.

Turning their headlights off, the Honda Accord slowly pulled into Galen's neighborhood. They aborted the car, and slowly crept up to his house, ketchup-soaked tampons in hand. All guys were afraid of tampons, they figured. Trying to keep the giggles down, they threw the tampons all around the Morrises' lawn, in the trees, and in the bushes. Finally, as a parting gift, they decided they were going to throw some at Galen's window to get his attention.

"One….two…..three…" They counted down, and all five threw their final tampon at the far left window on the second floor, each making a soft thud and leaving a blob of ketchup. Then, they ran like hell, looking back as often as they could to see if he stirred. Finally, the curtains were pulled aside and they saw one of Galen's friends in the window. They heard a muffled, "Uuuughhh!" coming from their general direction. The five girls darted to their car, crying tears of victory as they cracked up. Audrey slammed on the gas and started to speed away. Within twenty seconds, Galen was out the front door followed by two of his friends and they started to run down the street after them. Audrey drove faster as they all started to scream in an excited panic.

After the cheering and the initial shock wore off, the girls settled down, wondering what was coming next.

"Do you think they'll retaliate?" Lana asked, still in a frenzy. Katie's heart dropped in fear. If they came to their house, who knows what they'd do. If anything happened to the house, their parents would be pissed.

"They better not. But we better be prepared." Audrey said. Then the attention of all five girls was caught by a red and blue siren flashing and wailing right behind their car.

Josh and Donna were slightly disappointed they couldn't celebrate like they always had with their daughters, but having the night to themselves definitely helped. They were enjoying a little bubbly as they sat down on the couch. Josh sat in the middle of the love seat and Donna laid at the left end, with her legs on his lap.

"You really showed that Dick who was boss tonight." Josh told her, still amazed with what she could deliver. He gently massaged her bare feet.

"I try." She smiled. "You were getting your ass beat. I had to jump in and save you."

Josh's mouth opened in shock. "I was not getting my ass kicked, thank you very much."

"Oh, he had you in a corner, Josh. You had nowhere to go."

"I was about to give him the ass-kicking of a lifetime until you interrupted."

"Oh, I interrupted a moment of your brilliance, huh?" She reached up and cupped his left cheek in her right hand.

"Damn right."

"Well, next time, I'll just keep my mouth shut and let that 760 verbal speak for itself." She stroked his face with her thumb.

He made an expression with his face as if to say, 'sounds like a plan'.

"Joshua Lyman, you may be a Fulbright Scholar, but you are a complete idiot." She said candidly. "Good thing you have me."

"I don't know about that." He teased, moving his hand off her foot and up and down her calf.

"Yes, you do." She moved her hand from his face to the back of his neck and pulled her husband down to her decisively and planted a heated kiss on his lips.

"Donnatella Moss Lyman," he started seriously, "You never seize to amaze me." Then he began to kiss her back passionately, running his hand through her soft, blonde hair.

Things were starting to get heated when the doorbell rang.

Josh stopped, disappointed.

"Oh, Christ." He cursed. "Who the hell is that?"

"It's probably Dick coming back to start a fight." Donna teased. "Go defend yourself!"

"You stay there. I'm not finished with you." He gave her a seductive look as he walked towards the front door. It was then that he noticed red and blue lights outside their house. This couldn't be good.

Josh never thought he'd see his daughters being brought home by the police, but pigs fly. He opened the front door to find a police officer standing before him with his two daughters standing behind him. Katie was crying and looked down at her feet, obviously distraught, and Audrey just looked angry.

"Mr. Lyman?" The policeman started.

"Yes, officer?" He looked at him and then quickly shifted his eyes to his kids. Josh was sure he looked pretty scary at that moment. He didn't know what to think. But he was undoubtedly infuriated.

"Are these yours?" He asked.

The lights had now caught Donna's attention and she came to join her husband at the door. Josh exchanged a vexed and cross glance with his wife.

"Yes, they're ours." Josh admitted. "What seems to be the problem, officer?"

The officer took off his hat. "Well, sir, your daughters seem to be involved in a prank played on a young man named Galen Morris. Does that name ring a bell?"

"Yes, sir, it does." Josh tried to be as polite and agreeable as possible with the officer, not knowing how serious the situation was. Katie tried to wipe the tears from her eyes but more quickly began to fall. Audrey just stared at the wall with a defeated but defiant look on her face.

"Well, it involved ketchup-soaked tampons. They can explain later." He didn't dare get into it. "But a neighbor called the police because she suspected vandalism or a break-in. I pulled over a Honda Accord with five girls inside. The other three have been taken home already."

Josh sighed, trying to take this all in. Donna put a supportive hand on her husband's arm, which joined his other now crossed in front of him, but she was just as baffled as he was.

"Are there any charges, officer?" Josh prayed there weren't. What a media nightmare that would be.

"Thankfully not, Mr. Lyman." The officer reported "We talked to the Morrises and they agreed not to press any charges as long as I brought each of them home and spoke to you personally."

"That's wonderful news, sir, and thank you for bringing them home. I can assure you there will be repercussions at home and this won't happen again."

"I appreciate it, sir." He put his hat back on. "They're all yours."

"Thank you officer." Donna called as he walked down the Lymans' steps.

Josh dropped his arms and put one hand on the doorknob, opening the door wider and one perched angrily on his left hip.

"Get in the living room, now." He ordered them, both of them still avoiding eye contact. Audrey was the first to move, as she angrily marched into the house, her arms crossed. Katie followed timidly, still tearful. Obviously, she was remorseful, but Audrey was the opposite.

"Dad, I didn't…." Katie started.

"Katie, don't." Josh snapped. "Just get in the house." As Katie passed him on her way, he slammed the front door and quickly turned himself in a circle not knowing what to do. He ran one hand through his hair and then wiped his mouth in thought.

Donna could tell he was going to explode.

"Josh, you need to calm down."

Josh snapped his head in his wife's direction like she'd just said the most unbelievably impossible thing in the world.

"Calm down?" he repeated. "CALM DOWN? My daughters were just brought home by the police!" They stood in the doorway as the girls took their seats in the living room.

"Josh, if you go in there and yell at them, they're not going to listen to a word you say, especially Audrey. They'll just hate you."

"You're damn right they're gonna hate me when I get done with them." He started again. "This is serious, Donna. A COP brought them home." Josh emphasized.

"We don't know the whole story."

"Yeah, I bet that little fucker Galen is right in the middle of it. Just wait till I get my hands on that piece of scum."

"Okay, Josh, you're just getting more wound up. Take a few deep breaths." Donna put a hand on his chest, trying to calm him down. Josh tried to do as his wife asked and she could feel his heartbeat slow down a little after a minute or so.

"Are you calm now?" She whispered to him.

Josh glanced into the living room where the girls were sitting. Katie was hugging a pillow, still weepy with one leg tucked underneath her. Audrey sat cross-legged with a scowl on her face.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He tried to reassure her, but Donna wasn't entirely convinced.

"Okay." She took his hand. "Let's go." Together, they walked into the living room where the girls still avoided their eyes. Josh gave his wife's hand one last squeeze, and then he stuffed his hands into his pockets as they stood in front of the couch.

"Girls," Donna began, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one leg, "We're not going to go into how shocked we are that you were brought home tonight by the police. But we want to give you a fair opportunity to tell us what happened from your point of view."

The girls exchanged a worried look, trying to decide who would be the one to explain the story. Audrey seemed too angry to share anything. Audrey was sometimes difficult to read. Sometimes when she was so angry or just didn't know where to start, she shut down and kept her emotions bottled up. So seemed to be the case tonight.

Katie looked back down at the ground and played with her pant leg.

"Katie," Donna said, "Why don't you tell us what happened?"

Katie twisted her mouth to one side for a moment before letting out a huge sigh.

"Well," She started, but started getting teary-eyed again.

Donna walked over to her and sat down next to her, putting a hand on her forehead and stroking some fallen pieces of hair back.

"Just calm down and take your time. We just want to hear your side."

Katie finally looked at her mother with sorry eyes and then looked up at Josh. She quickly looked away as he had a challenging look in his eye, much like he looked at a political opponent. She decided to turn her attention back to her mother.

"We were walking out to the car to leave and Galen and his friends had written stuff all over our car with that erasable paint stuff, you know?"

Donna nodded and listened.

"So they all thought it was a good idea to get 'em back, you know, so we went and got…tampons from the store and ketchup. I really didn't want to, but I ended up doing it too." She said honestly. Katie was the one who always had a conscience – she was always honest, even if it meant she was in trouble. She took in some quick, tearful breaths. "And so we drove to his house and threw them at his window and in his yard and then we sped away. That's when the police stopped us. I guess his neighbor called because she thought we were vandalizing the property."

"Well, that's exactly what you were doing, Katie," Josh finally jumped in. "You're damn lucky there weren't any charges pressed against you. Do you know what kind of media coverage that would get?" Josh gestured with his arms like he was posting a newspaper headline in the air "Josh and Donna Lyman's daughters arrested for vandalism'."

"Sorry, dad, we screwed up!"

"You think!" He yelled.

"Josh." Donna gave him a look, trying to remind him to stay calm

Audrey's breathing had slowly been getting quicker over the past minute, and she finally snapped.

"That's all you care about is how you look to your goddam political opponents and the public!" She yelled back at him, standing up. "What about how we feel? We were humiliated!"

"You were humiliated because you made a horrible decision to listen to your hormones and not your head!" His hands were flying furiously as he walked closer to Audrey. "You could've come home and that would've been the end of it, but you decided to be childish and immature."

"It was a harmless prank, dad! How were we supposed to know that friggin Betty Crocker would call the pigs?"

"How many other times have you pulled stupid crap like this and not had the cops called on you?"

"Fuck you!" Audrey screamed at the insinuation, and immediately started storming towards her room. Josh was about to tear after her until his wife's voice called him back to sanity.

"Josh! Just leave her! Don't go in there when you're this mad."

Josh spun himself back around and sat down on the couch, resting his forearms on his knees and looking down at his shoes.

Katie was crying again and Donna now had her arm around her daughter as she curled up into a ball.

"I'm sorry…" She managed to get out.

"Shhhhhh…." Donna hushed her daughter. Katie was obviously remorseful. If Josh or Donna so much as looked at her, that was enough to put her back in line usually. The threat of punishment was more effective with her than actual punishment. But as had happened many times before, the girls had gotten in trouble together, so they couldn't hand out different penalties. Josh couldn't help but think back to the first time the girls had gotten in major trouble together. The beginning of an era of mischief together as a team.

**Flashback**

Like on many other warm spring Saturdays, the Lyman family decided to go for a stroll around the neighborhood. Audrey and Kaitlyn, aged four, had each just received brand new matching tricycles as a present from their grandmother and were dying to test drive them. So, the family of four set out on one of their walks. The girls slowly but surely started pedaling their way down the sidewalk as Josh and Donna walked closely behind them. They didn't have to walk very fast as the girls didn't have much muscle power in those tiny legs of theirs.

"Mommy! Daddy! Look at me!" Audrey called from under her bike helmet that seemed twice the size of her head. Donna insisted they wear the helmets even though they'd be with them the whole time closely behind.

"You're looking good, baby doll!" Josh called, taking his wife's hand in his. Audrey turned her head to look back at them to see their proud faces she so often looked to for approval. As she turned her head, she also turned her handlebars, sending her veering off course into someone's lawn. She let out a little screech.

"Woah, look out there." Donna rushed to her aid, taking control of the handlebars and repositioning her on the sidewalk. "Keep your eyes on the road, okay baby?"

"Okay, mommy." She agreed. Katie was close behind her sister, looking just as adorable in her tiny blue jeans and a flowery shirt. The girls weren't dressed alike. Donna thought it important that they each had a sense of their own identity, not one half of a pair of twins. Audrey was dressed in overalls and a yellow shirt with tiny white polka dots. Audrey never wore pink, as it was too "girly girl" for her liking, as she had so adamantly explained.

"Audrey, slow down!" Katie begged her sister, who was only just getting the hang of this pedaling thing.

"You can do it, Katie," She encouraged, "Just push really hard!"

Josh brought their connected hands up and kissed the back of Donna's hand, silently thanking her for his children.

"Hard to believe they're already four. In their second year of preschool." He commented.

"I know it." She said. Even though the girls were still so young, it was scary how cliché they had already become. One twin with dark hair, the other with blonde. One was bubbly and outgoing, the other shy and sweet. They were like day and night at the tender age of four. They complimented each other so well and they were fast becoming best friends and defending each other to the grave. Katie and Audrey were a team for better or worse.

"I wanna rock and roll all night!" Audrey was a new fan of singing and she belted out a Kiss tune "And party every day!"

Donna immediately looked over at Josh, who had a guilty look on his face.

"Joshua Lyman!" She scolded him. "Have you been listening to this while the girls were in the car?"

"Guilty as charged." He admitted. "I can't help it, I just forget sometimes." He tried to build himself a case.

"But Kiss of all people." Donna muttered. "You push me over the edge." She smiled.

The happy family continued down the sidewalk and the girls soon saw one of their pals, Matt Thompson, playing in his front yard.

Donna leaned over to whisper something to her husband.

"Audrey told me yesterday that she and Matt are boyfriend and girlfriend." She informed him. "She held his hand yesterday at recess."

Josh scrunched his eyebrows. "She's starting early, isn't she? I thought she was dating Ethan Jacobs."

"Apparently, she's dating both of them." Donna thought it was adorable. "And she's telling everyone at preschool that she has two boyfriends."

Josh tilted his head back and let out a punctuated laugh. The girls had already jettisoned their bikes in the middle of the sidewalk and run over to their playmate. Mrs. Thompson emerged from gardening her tulips, having been obscured from sight by a bush. The three parents met in the middle of the lawn by their playing children. She wiped a bit of sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and then set both on her hips, a shovel still in her grasp.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lyman!" She happily greeted them from behind her pale pink sunhat, having to tilt her head back a bit to see them. "What a pleasant surprise! Hi girls."

"Hi, Mrs. Thompson." The girls said in unison. Katie and Audrey had been taught impeccable manners, as they would likely be in the public eye most of their young lives.

"May we play with Matt's toys?" Audrey asked, putting a hand above her eyes to shield the bright sun.

"You most certainly may." She said, impressed, smiling down. Then she turned her attention back to the adults. "What brings you down this way?" The Lymans lived relatively close by, but they had been walking for about fifteen minutes, taking them several blocks from their home.

"The girls desperately wanted to test out their new bikes." Josh said, gesturing his arm in the general direction of the bikes.

"Oh, and what lovely bikes they are!" Mrs. Thompson exclaimed. "But I thought I saw you riding them yesterday down by Ella's house." She looked down at the two girls.

Katie and Audrey immediately stopped what they were doing and looked at one another. This comment immediately caught Josh and Donna's attention, as this had been the first time they'd taken the girls out riding their new bikes. The girls had been told not to ride their tricycles unless Josh or Donna was with them. They looked down at the girls with a collective four eyebrows raised.

"Girls, is this true?" Donna questioned them.

Audrey and Katie continued to exchange glances, not knowing what to say. Katie early showed her integrity by speaking up and telling the truth.

"Yes, mommy, we did." She said quietly, looking down at the toy car she held in her hand.

"I thought daddy and I told you not to ride them unless we were with you."

"I know, mommy." Katie explained. "But Ella really wanted to see them and we wanted to show her real bad, so we rode them over when the babysitter was taking a nap."

The babysitter napping also caught their attention, but they'd deal with that later. Ella was a new friend the girls had met at preschool. She wasn't exactly bad, but she did tend to get into mischief and take Katie and Audrey with her.

"Girls, I think we need to head home and have a little talk." Josh announced, hands behind his back with a serious look on his face. Audrey still hadn't said anything. She knew she'd been caught, but didn't look too sorry. She continued to play with the airplane she'd picked up a few minutes before, making it sail through the air in her hand.

Josh gently caught her hand and took the airplane from it.

"Hey!" She called out.

"Audrey, we need to give this back to Matt. It's time to go home." Josh reaffirmed, setting the toy back down on the lawn.

"No!" She whined as he pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, Katie." Donna said. "Time to go. Will you say thank you to Mrs. Thompson and Matt for letting you play with the toys?"

"Thank you Matt. Thank you Mrs. Thompson." Katie said with her tiny voice.

Josh shook Audrey's arm gently to cue her in.

"Say thank you." He told her as she either didn't get it or chose to ignore him.

"Thank you!" Audrey said, insincerely as they walked back to the bikes. Donna followed closely behind, holding Katie's hand.

"Donna, do you wanna walk them back and I'll carry the bikes?" Josh suggested, looking back at his wife.

"Sounds like a plan." She said. Josh let go of Audrey's hand and Donna held out her free one. As Audrey took her mother's hand, they slowly but surely began to walk down the street back to their house. Josh picked one tricycle up in each hand and followed behind his wife and daughters. They weren't too heavy, but three blocks? He might have to stop.

On the way back home, Donna began to have a conversation with the girls about what had just happened. She tried to point out the logic of why what they did was wrong and dangerous. They finally reached the front door of their house and Josh placed the bikes down in the garage in relief.

"Your daddy and I don't want anything to happen to you. You can't just wander off on your own." She explained calmly. "You're both very smart girls and I know you want to do a lot by yourselves, but what you did was dangerous." She led them to the couch in the living room and sat them down next to each other, their feet dangling over the edges as their legs weren't long enough. Donna knelt down in front of them, still holding their hands. "Do you understand what I mean?" She looked back and forth between them. Katie's eyes told her that she understood but Audrey looked defiantly back at her.

"But we didn't get hurt, mommy." Audrey protested, knowing she was still in trouble. She early started to debate herself out of difficult situations, especially when she knew she was in hot water. By this time, Josh had come in from the garage and had perched himself on the couch arm next to Audrey.

"But Audrey," Josh started, "You could have very easily been hurt. And you disobeyed your mom and me. That's not okay."

Audrey scrunched up her eyebrows and her bottom lip came out a little bit as she crossed her tiny arms in front of her.

"Now, you both need to go to your rooms and think about what you did, and what you'll do next time if the same thing happens. Mom and I will be back in a little while to tell you your punishments."

"What's pushment?" Katie mispronounced.

"Punishment." Josh corrected her. "It means a consequence when you do something wrong."

"What's cossekwiss?"

"Consequence, honey." Josh corrected her again, noting the charm in her mispronunciation. He sometimes forgot that his four-year-olds didn't have the same verbal capabilities as he did. "Don't worry, we'll explain when we come back."

They both got off from the couch and started to walk towards their respective bedrooms. Audrey almost skipped, obviously not bothered, whereas Katie slowly kicked her feet out in front of her, looking down at her shoes.

"Oh, God." Josh said as he let himself fall from the arm to the seat cushion when both doors were finally closed. Donna stood up and took the seat next to him and they locked hands. "How adorable was that? I can't punish her." Katie was his weakness. She most definitely had him wrapped around her finger.

"Josh." Donna brought him back to reality.

"Audrey didn't seem sorry at all. Just sorry she'd been caught." Josh pointed out.

"Rascal. What do you think we should do? I'm new at this."

"I have no idea." Josh admitted. Thank God Katie and Audrey didn't know the kind of power they had over their parents. They'd take over the world if they did. "They sure like the TV. Aren't we supposed to not let them do something they like a lot?"

"That's what I've heard." Donna said.

"I think we should take it away from Audrey for longer."

"Huh?" Donna asked, bewildered.

"Katie obviously showed remorse and she was sorry. I think that should be recognized."

"Josh, we can't hand out different punishments for the same offense."

"Why not?" He looked at his wife questioningly.

Donna let out a huff. "They're twins, Josh. They'll think you have a favorite."

"I don't have a favorite. I'm just trying to reward honesty and repentance."

"I know you are, but that's not going to be how they see it. Audrey will think you like Katie more."

"Donna…." He thought she was being ridiculous.

"Everything I have heard from other parents of twins is to make sure you treat them the same and discipline them consistently. It's just going to confuse them."

Josh looked at his wife, who had a serious look on her face and thought for a moment. As soon as Donna found out she was carrying twins, she'd read all the books and magazine articles she could get her hands on and even joined a local "Mother of Twins" group. Donna was a textbook expert on twins, so maybe he should listen to her after all.

"Okay." He gave in. "If you feel that strongly about it."

"I do." She reinforced her stance. Donna gave his hand another supportive squeeze.

"Okay." He smiled slightly at her. "You ready?"

"Yeah." They got up off the couch. "Do you wanna take Audrey and I'll take Katie so you won't chicken out?"

"You know me too well." Josh said.

**End of flashback**

Josh sat on the same couch twelve years later in a slightly more complicated situation. Katie and Audrey had again gotten themselves into a world of trouble together. Just like before, Katie seemed remorseful and he felt she'd been punished enough, and Audrey had once again proven she didn't really give a damn. And now she had a smart mouth to go with her brazenness. Perfect. He turned to his wife and daughter.

"Katie, why don't you go to your room so your mom and I can talk." He suggested in a calm voice.

Katie wiped her eyes and nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry, dad. I really am." She said sincerely.

"I know it, baby." He reached his arm out to her and she came over and gave him a hug. "I'll see you in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay. Bye mom." She told her mother on her way to her room.

Josh waited to speak until Katie's door was closed.

"You still think we shouldn't punish Audrey more for being a smart ass?" Josh asked her seriously.

Donna looked over at Josh, tired. "You know we can't."

"But she used the 'f' word." He pointed out.

"We can't let her know her poor choice of words gets to our emotions." Donna argued.

"But it did. And people react to it the same way in the real world. She needs to learn that cussing at people will just piss them off and bring dire consequences."

"If we don't acknowledge it, she'll probably stop."

"Probably." Josh said in a chastising tone.

"We just tell her that we don't care for her choice of words and still hand out the same punishment."

Josh and Donna didn't often disagree on how to raise the girls, but this was a subject that had often come up throughout the years. Audrey had always been one to be unremorseful for her actions and even mouthy. Donna had no problem punishing her more severely when it was just her that misbehaved, but when it was a joint venture with her sister, she strongly felt they should be treated the same. Josh obviously felt differently.

"And it was that damn Pint kid again who started all the trouble." Josh commented. "Are you going to tell her to stop dating him when you go in there?"

"I don't know if it's a good time for that, Josh."

"I think it's a perfect time. He got her into this."

"But she made the choice to retaliate, like you pointed out earlier."

"Fine, Donna." Josh was just tired.

"I think we should sleep on it tonight. Let's wait till tomorrow when we all feel a little more rested."

"Okay. I'll go tell Katie." He quickly claimed the 'good twin'.

"Alright." Donna agreed. "See you in bed."

Josh was sure that Katie probably cried herself to sleep that night. She hated to be thought of as anything but trustworthy in her parents' eyes. When Josh went to her room to say goodnight, he tried to reassure that he was disappointed in her actions, but proud that she was honest and told them the truth. He knew it helped a little bit but she'd still beat herself up.

That night, Josh and Donna snuggled in bed.

"How'd it go with Audrey?" Josh questioned.

"As good as can be expected." She simply explained. Josh knew exactly what she meant. Audrey had taken in the information like Donna had read off a grocery list. Josh had a few choice words for her, but knew it wasn't a good idea to verbalize them.

"Katie was still upset."

"I know. I went in to see her after you left."

"Really?"

"I wanted to end the night on a more positive note. We got somewhere with her, at least."

"Yeah." Josh kissed his wife on the cheek. "We'll deal with that other one in the morning. Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight." Donna whispered.

In Josh's head, he began to stir up some different ways he could get back at that Quart kid. He was going to kick his ass. Galen Morris – a skidmark on the underpants of society.

To be continued…


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Donna had been seeing the warning signs all along with Galen Morris. He was sweet at the beginning – offering to help her in a time of need; introducing himself to Josh and Donna; ballooning Josh's ego on his political decisions. Then slowly, she started to notice the little things, like with Scott. He would call her a name playfully, then put her down, then start ordering her around. Galen did it bit by bit, slowly catching Audrey in his net. It was painful to watch – like a lobster slowly being boiled to death in a pot. The temperature kept being turned up, unbeknownst to Audrey. But those on the outside of the boiling water – they could tell the difference in temperature very easily.

She waited for the right time to talk to Audrey. Donna avoided it for the few days after they'd been brought home by the police. Audrey was still really upset about it. She was upset with Josh and Donna, not Galen, of course. In her mind, Galen had played an innocent prank and her parents had overreacted. But what she wasn't seeing that Donna saw so clearly was that Galen had left her hanging on a thin string. He could've come to her defense. He could've stood up to his parents like a real man who had caused trouble. But he didn't. He let Audrey and her friends take all the flack.

Donna had a nervous pit in her stomach as she knocked on her daughter's bedroom door on the next Wednesday afternoon. Audrey had been in hiding all week, avoiding her mom and dad, still too angry to talk to them at all. At the interruption in her self-pity, she answered her mother's knock angrily.

"What!" She snapped from her bed where she contemplated some precalculus homework.

"Can I come in?" Donna asked.

"I guess." Audrey answered in an 'if-you-dare' tone.

Donna silently entered the room and closed the door behind her. The room was now spic and span since Audrey had had plenty of time the last few days to clean it after being grounded for two weeks. Donna took a seat on her daughter's bed.

"Whatcha working on?" Donna tried to ease her way into conversation.

"Precalc." She didn't elaborate and kept her eyes on the book.

"Do you think you want to go into a math field?"

"No. I hate math."

"I see." Donna looked at the walls, wondering how to continue. Audrey's room had a darker tone than her sister's. Covering the light yellow paint that had plastered the room since she was three were alternative band posters, fronted by angry-looking men.

"Listen, Audrey."

That elicited a dramatic sigh from Audrey, knowing she was about to be lectured. What about, she didn't know, but she most definitely wasn't in the mood for another one.

"I know you're still angry with me, but I really need to talk to you about something."

"What?" She wanted to get this over with.

"About Galen."

"Mom!" She hissed, "You and dad have already made it quite clear how you feel about him. You're just trying to ruin the one thing that makes me happy so you can keep me in this hell forever."

"Audrey, that's not true." Donna spoke calmly. "Think about it Audrey. Are you really that happy right now?"

Audrey shot her a confused look and Donna sought to explain herself a little more.

"I don't know, sweetheart. You always seem a little deflated when you're around him. You lose some of your bubbliness and your spice."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Audrey told her, but things were stirring in the back of her mind.

"It just seems that sometimes he doesn't treat you with respect. And he orders you around a little."

"Orders me around?" She repeated. "Like how?"

"Well, I just noticed the other night. When you were doing your dress rehearsal, he told you to go get him a Coke."

Audrey raised her hands mockingly. "Oh, no, mom! He asked me to get him a Coke. What a cantankerous ass!"

"It was his tone, sweetheart." Donna clarified. "I didn't like it."

"Whatever, mom." Audrey shook her head and looked away, dismissing Donna's concerns.

"And what happened the other night, Audrey."

"Let's not get into again, mom, I'm not in the mood."

"I was just going to say that he left you out in the cold." She said seriously. "He could've defended you and he didn't."

"Mom, it was harmless."

"You were brought home by the police, Audrey, it wasn't harmless."

Audrey sighed again, knowing her mother was right. But she was just trying to mess up what she and Galen had. She wanted to keep her as her little girl forever, and Audrey wasn't going to let that happen.

"I just want you to think about it, Audrey. I'm not telling you that you can't date him anymore, because I know you're capable of making decisions for yourself. I'm just trying to tell you what it looks like from the outside." Donna reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her daughter's ear. "I want you to be happy, but I want you to make sure it's with the right person."

"Okay, mom. I'll think about." Audrey told her. She wasn't sure yet whether she would or not, but maybe it would get her mom to leave.

"Okay. Please do." Donna said as she got up. She leaned over and kissed Audrey on the forehead.

Even though she didn't want to admit it, Audrey thought about what her mother said. She'd heard about Galen's reputation at school. He'd dated many girls throughout high school. All of them were pretty and popular. But they all kind of seemed like bimbos without a brain of their own. Audrey knew he wasn't a virgin – he'd probably slept with all of them. Audrey had more respect for herself than that. She'd only let them go to second base, but she knew he wanted to go farther with her. When they kissed lately, he'd been forceful, shoving his tongue in her mouth and grabbing at her chest. At first, she'd enjoyed kissing him, but now he was just rough and she even dreaded being alone with him deep down. He made her feel important though. Being seen with one of the most popular boys in school didn't hurt her status either. Other girls looked at her in jealousy and Audrey enjoyed it. If everyone else wanted him, he must be a catch, right?

Audrey shrugged to herself after a few minutes of contemplation and returned her attention to her homework. She didn't have to worry about going on dates with him right now anyway – she was grounded.

After Audrey had finished her precalculus homework, she decided to take a break and go running to clear her mind. Dressed in her running gear, she walked out of her room and into the living room where her mother was watching a previously recorded segment on C-SPAN. Her father was on, delivering some speech about the environmental bill he'd been working on.

"I'm going running for a while."

Donna looked over the back of the couch at her daughter.

"Okay. You're not stopping anywhere, are you?"

"God, mom!" Audrey said, insulted. "Don't you trust me at all?"

"I'm just making sure, that's all."

Audrey angrily marched out the front door without saying another word. She didn't need to be in any more trouble and she knew she could run her mouth without even realizing it sometimes.

Katie was in her bedroom with the door closed working on an english assignment. That was about all she did these days. She still felt guilty about what transpired over the weekend. She should've been more firm with her sister when she got a bad feeling about the situation. She could've called her parents to come pick her up. Katie replayed the night in her head over and over again, sometimes just how it occurred, and sometimes with her saying and doing just the right things.

Katie had chosen to remain in hiding much like her sister the entire week. Though she knew her parents respected the fact that she'd come clean about the situation, she felt too ashamed to look at them. Katie could still detect a hint of disappointment in their eyes whenever she made eye contact. So she just avoided them. They'd both been in to talk to her several times, trying to reassure her, but she preferred to just be alone. Katie had heard her mother arrive home about an hour earlier, but her father was still at work by the sound of it. Her parents called her out for dinner each night, but that was really the only time she came out from her safe haven.

A few minutes later, she heard the gentle sound of footsteps in the hallway, first coming from the door leading to the garage. Katie was confused, though. It was as if whoever it was was trying to conceal the fact he was in the hallway. Quiet tiptoes were making their way to her door. Curiosity took over and Katie slowly walked to her bedroom door and turned the doorknob, being careful not to make a sound. As soon as she cracked the door, the door was suddenly pushed back hard, and Katie was knocked into the wall, bumping her head. She touched the back of her head in pain, and then finally looked up to see a familiar face. Galen Morris.

"Katie." He whispered.

"What the hell are you doing?"

He smiled in amusement at her surprise.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" he waved his hands in innocence.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" She rubbed her tender head.

"I don't know. I just felt like…coming over."

"Uh…" She didn't know where to start so she started pacing back and forth. What an idiot. "You can't just come over, jackass. If my mom finds out you're here she'll kill you and probably Audrey. Does Audrey know you're here?"

"No. I didn't tell her I was coming."

Katie was confused.

"Do you know how much trouble you got us in?"

"Yeah, I heard about that. Sorry." He didn't seem so.

"Yeah, thanks for defending us."

"Katie?"

"What! What do you want? Why are you in my room?"

"To do this." Then Galen did something so totally unexpected. He grabbed Katie hard and planted a rough kiss on her lips. Katie fought to pull herself away, but Galen brought his hand up and held her head in place.

Just then, Audrey walked in the room, just back from her run, to talk to her sister. Galen immediately stepped back and looked at Audrey, not knowing what to say. Katie looked at her too, seeing a look of pure hurt and hate, like she'd just gotten the wind knocked out of her. She was pretty sure the hate was for Galen, but what happened next surprised her even more than the kiss.

"You fucking bitch!" Audrey yelled and then slapped her sister hard on the face.

Katie cried out in pain and grabbed her face as Galen ran out the door and fled out the garage. She looked at her sister with a look of utter betrayal and shock. How could she think she actually wanted that to happen?

Then Audrey came at her sister, taking chunks of hair in her hand.

"How could you do this to me!" She wailed. "You're my sister!" Audrey started pushing and pulling Katie around the room. Katie was too bewildered to do much, but she tried her best to fight back, all the while begging her to stop and let go.

Donna had started running towards the room instantly after she'd heard Audrey scream out. Josh had just gotten in the front door and he'd heard it all. They'd exchanged a worried glance as they both bolted towards Katie's room. Josh had seen Galen make a quick exit out of the corner of his eye. Little fucker. Run and hide, asshole.

By the time they'd gotten there, the girls had already knocked over a lamp and several other items from Katie's desk. Katie and Audrey were a blurry clump as they pushed each other around the room, all the while crying and screaming at each other.

"Audrey!" Josh yelled over them, grabbing hold of one of them, he couldn't tell which. "Audrey, let go!"

Donna managed to get hold of the other twin, which turned out to be Katie, and together, they pulled the girls off each other. Katie immediately sunk to the floor and buried her face in her mother's arms, crying uncontrollably.

Audrey angrily snatched her arms from her father's grip and ran out the door, not before yelling, "Whore!" at her sister.

Josh went after her as she headed out the front door running. Neither Josh or Donna knew what had just gone on, but they knew it involved Galen and apparently Audrey was very hurt by something Katie had done.

In Katie's room, Donna rocked her daughter back and forth on the floor, which was scattered now with various objects that had fallen victim to the uproar.

"Shhhhhh…." Donna tried her best to calm her down, but Katie's body was shaking uncontrollably and it didn't seem like she'd ever stop crying. "It's over now, baby. I'm here. Just take deep breaths."

Donna felt like crying also, seeing her daughter so distraught and having just witnessed a rare fight between the twins. They'd had their disagreements in the past, but this was a whole new level. Katie and Audrey had never resorted to physical violence before. It was something that just didn't happen in this house. Something had changed in Audrey. Donna recalled hearing her older daughter's angry voice first, so she inferred it was Audrey who had started the fight. And there was Galen. The bastard ran like hell as soon as a problem arose. That small fraction of a man. It was Galen who had changed Audrey. And now here was the side effect.

Josh tore after his daughter, leaving the front door wide open. He wished Audrey wasn't on the cross country team right now. She could easily outrun him, and he knew he'd have to convince her to stop because he'd never catch up.

"Audrey!" He called after her.

Audrey kept running down the sidewalk, tears streaming down her face, obstructing the view of her path. She heard her father about thirty feet behind her. Audrey knew she could outrun him if she wanted to, but she was too tired of fighting. Finally, she stopped and leaned over, resting her hands on her knees.

Josh saw that Audrey had finally stopped, so he slowed down to a jog and then a walk as he neared her. He stopped in front of her and knelt down to her eye level to talk.

"Audrey, honey." He gently took hold of her right hand, trying to look at her face. "Calm down, sweetheart."

Audrey heaved, trying to catch her breath, in a combination of betrayal, frustration and now exhaustion from her sprint. She felt like collapsing from all the emotion.

"Let's sit down, okay?" Josh suggested, gently pulling her down to sit on the grass just behind them. Audrey gave in but quickly drew her knees up to her chest and buried her head in her arms. Josh tried to soothe her the best he could, patting her on the back, waiting for her to stop crying and her breathing to slow down.

Katie was finally calm now and so Donna carefully brought her daughter's head up from her shoulder. Katie pawed at her face, trying to wipe the remaining moisture from it while sniffling. Donna took her head in her hands and kissed her forehead.

"Do you wanna talk about it, sweetheart?"

Katie nodded, but still obviously wasn't capable of speaking coherently. She had to take about another minute to stop sniffling before she spoke, and she still had to fight back bawling again.

"I…I was just in my room doing homework and I heard footsteps in the hall. I thought it was dad at first, but he was tiptoeing. So I got up to look and Galen came tearing through the door." Katie was playing with her pant leg again, one of her nervous habits. "I asked him what he was doing there and he said he just felt like coming over. Then I asked him if Audrey knew he was here. And then we said some other stuff and he ends up kissing me." She started to cry again at the memory.

"Oh…." Donna moaned, her hearting aching for her daughter.

"I tried to make him stop but he had a hold on my head. Then Audrey came in and saw us, and she blamed me. She slapped me, mom! She slapped me! And that was my first kiss…" Katie started bawling again and rested her head on her mother's shoulder once more. All Donna could do was gently stroke Katie's hair and wait for her to calm down again.

Audrey was now breathing softly, still with her head buried in her arms.

"Do you want to tell me what just happened in there?" Josh finally said, breaking the silence.

"Not really." She spoke with candor, finally lifting her head up and resting her chin on her forearm.

"Come on. Let's hear it." He encouraged, keeping his hands to himself, not knowing how to read her still.

Audrey sighed at the thought.

"I'd just come back from my run and I went to Katie's room to talk to her about something."

"Uh-huh." He was listening.

"And I opened the door and….and I saw them kissing."

Woah. No wonder she was pissed. But he knew Katie – she would never do something like that to her sister. It was that ass clown.

"I was so mad. So I called her a bitch and slapped her across the face. Galen ran like hell out the door."

"You hit her?" Josh repeated, his eyebrows jumping up. Hitting had never been a part of this family. He could never lay a hand on either of them and he thought he'd passed that value down to his daughters. Josh was a little disappointed in her for taking the easy way out. His mind returned again to that little prick – Galen had had this effect on his daughter. If that bastard laid a hand on his daughter…

"Yes." She said, detecting the disappointment in her father's voice, echoing the disappointment in herself.

"I know." She said before he could say anything else. "I shouldn't have."

Josh sighed.

"Are you sure she was kissing him back?"

"No." She was looking straight ahead. "I just saw them, and….I couldn't help myself." Audrey had inherited Josh's quick temper, often acting and speaking before she thought.

Josh tried to think of a way to tell her she was wrong without telling her she was wrong. Audrey hated to be lectured and now was probably the worst time to sound like he was giving her one.

"What do you think Katie was thinking?" He looked over at her.

"I don't know. She was probably just as surprised as me." Audrey figured out that it was Galen who had probably initiated the kiss. Her mother was right all along, damnit.

"And what do you think Galen was thinking?" He inquired further.

"I don't know what, but I know what he was thinking with." She said.

Josh scooted a little closer and felt it safe to put his arm around her shoulders.

"Audrey, we all make mistakes." He began. "But I think Galen has made a few too many. What do you think?"

"I think you're right." She finally said. "And I made a mistake too."

Josh didn't say anything for a few moments, not wanting her to feel like he was saying, 'I told you so'.

"But, unlike Galen, I think you deserve another chance."

"I don't know about that." Audrey said.

"I think so." He kissed her head. "Come on, let's go home and see if we can sort this out." Josh got up and helped Audrey to her feet and they began to walk back down the street to their house.

Katie had calmed down again from another crying bout and now she was in the bathroom washing her face as Donna stood close by.

"When dad and Audrey get back, we'll have a little discussion about this, okay, and we'll work it out. I'm sure that Audrey was just acting out of surprise. She didn't think before she acted."

Katie grabbed a towel from the counter and gently dabbed her face, now finally feeling calm enough to discuss the situation without breaking down in tears again. But like after a storm, she was feeling quiet and subdued and didn't really say anything to her mother.

As she was finishing off, Donna and Katie heard the front door open. Donna peeked out the bathroom door to see a remorseful-looking Audrey walk in followed closely by her husband with his hands stuffed in his jean pockets looking downcast but concerned.

Josh and Donna assumed they'd have a family meeting, the four of them, but the girls had different plans. This was between them. They'd been through so much together, and they'd get through this, too. Josh half expected Katie to pommel her sister at the first sight of her, not knowing what had transpired at home. Using nonverbal twinspeak, they told each other they were okay and ready to talk.

"Mom? Dad? Can we have some privacy?" Audrey requested, surprising them both.

Donna's surprise was observable on her face and Josh took her hand.

"Uh….yeah." She stammered out. "Of course. We'll be here if you need us, okay?"

"Okay, mom. Thanks." Audrey raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly as she closed the door.

Outside the bathroom door, both parents desperately wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation, but managed to stifle their curiosity. Josh pulled his wife over to the couch to give the girls some privacy.

"What did Katie say?" He really wanted to know what had happened on the other end of the events, putting his hand on the small of her back.

"Well, basically, Galen snuck into her room, grabbed her and kissed her. Audrey walked in on it and instantly blamed her and slapped her across the face. That was her first kiss."

Donna saw Josh's jaw tighten, the anger building inside him. That sniveling little weasel. He'd just love to meet him in a dark alley.

"Well, I think Audrey finally sees what a jerk-off Galen is. This really opened her eyes. It's too bad it had to happen like this." He sat back in the chair and rested his feet on the coffee table in front of him. Donna sighed and joined him, taking his hand in hers.

"I'm glad they're working it out. I haven't heard anything being thrown yet." Donna tried to lighten the mood.

"That's a good sign." Josh acknowledged and kissed Donna on the cheek. "They'll be fine."

"Yeah." Donna whispered, then snuggled her head against Josh's shoulder. They waited there for the girls to finish.

The twins emerged after about half an hour of working things out. As they walked into the living room, a weight seemed to be lifted off both their shoulders. They found their parents waiting for them in the living room. Josh and Donna both immediately got up from the couch to hear what had happened.

"We're fine." Katie declared. "We'll be fine." She looked at her sister, who stepped over and put her arm around Katie's shoulder.

"She forgives me!" Audrey said, flashing a cheesy smile and pressing her cheek against Katie's.

"But she can bitchslap like no one else I know." Katie smiled.

"Oh, so you've been bitchslapped before?" Josh laughed.

"Maybe once or twice."

"Okay, well it's getting pretty late for me to start dinner, so why don't we go out tonight?" Donna suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Josh said and the girls agreed. Dinner out was a nice break from the monotony of the week and allowed them all to clear their minds. The family returned home rejuvenated and ready to face the next day.

Ever since the stunt Galen pulled on Saturday, Josh had been plotting how to get payback in his mind. Josh was one to act on instinct, and when he was tested when it came to his kids, he was vengeful. He'd thought long and hard about how to get that little prick back, and had finally devised a meticulous plan. He also felt that Audrey had finally given him permission to let out his wrath on the little fucker. And he would. Oh, he would.

The young man turned out to be a spoiled brat. His parents had bought him a brand new Mustang for his sixteenth birthday. But the dumb fuck happened to leave the passenger side door unlocked quite frequently, and Josh jumped at his advantage. He stealthily and quietly snuck up to the car and opened the door. Opening the glove compartment with a little click, he deposited a small ziploc bag of sugar.

Josh patiently waited down the street in his car for the asswipe to come out of his house. Apparently, he was a popular guy, so he was sure Galen would be going out on a Thursday night. About twenty minutes later, Galen emerged from the garage door along with three of his weasly friends. Even better. He was walking like he was the most important guy in the world and his fleas were just egging him on.

Galen abruptly exited the driveway and started bolting off down the street. Josh, with his headlights turned off (something he'd learned from the movies), followed at a safe distance. Once he'd gotten onto a main road where cops would be galore, Josh found his cellphone in his front pocket and dialed 911.

"911 Emergency Response."

"Yes, sir." He began, feeling a little nervous. This had to work. I'm driving down 40th and there's some kid in a red Mustang, license plate Y041282, and he's driving kind of senselessly. You might want to send some one over to check him out."

"He's on 40th?

"Yes, ma'am, heading North."

"Thank you, sir."

"No, thank you." He said and slapped his flip-phone shut, placing it back in his front pocket. He smiled as he gazed ahead at the red Mustang driving fast about 30 meters in front of him.

Quick as a fiddle, Josh spotted a police car about a minute later. It pulled up close to the Mustang, checking out the license place. The dumb fuck slowed down to about 5 below the speed limit. The red and blue lights went on. He he he.

Josh pulled into a gas station about a block away from where Galen had been pulled over and watched from afar.

"Oh, shit, man." Galen tapped the wheel nervously. "What did I do?"

"Just play it cool, Galen, you didn't do anything wrong." One of his cronies said from the back seat.

Galen rolled his window down as the bulky-looking policeman approached his car door. As he came closer, he shined his flashlight into the car, checking out the passengers and finally the driver.

"Good evening, officer. Is there a problem?" Galen asked politely.

"I need to see your license and registration, please." The officer said methodically.

"Yeah, sure." Galen reached over to the glove compartment to retrieve his registration. As the door opened, a small ziploc bag of white powder fell out onto the floor. His friend in the passenger seat quickly stomped a foot over it, but the damage had been done.

"What was that?" The officer questioned in a no-nonsense tone.

"What was what?" Galen played dumb, which wasn't too hard.

"Don't even try me. Give me that plastic bag that just fell out."

Galen put up his hands in innocence.

"Hey, sir. Officer, I mean. I have no idea what that is. It's not mine." He said, stereotypically of a druggie.

"I've heard that before. Hand it over."

Galen's friend handed him the pouch and Galen gave it to the officer. He took it in his hand and carefully examined it with his flashlight. The officer looked at Galen suspiciously. It was very dark out, and the officer couldn't tell what the substance was merely by looking at it.

"Sir, I'm going to have to get you to step out of the car." He ordered him.

"Officer."

"Step out of the car, please." The officer stepped back.

Galen looked annoyed and afraid, and he carefully exited the car, closing the door behind him.

Josh was watching from the car, and a grin slowly covered his face. He saw the officer walk him back to the rear of the car and place the bag on the stupid-looking spoiler. Galen stood respectfully with his hands behind his back and watched keenly as the officer opened the bag. That's right, you little fucker, you're scared now aren't you? It's tough when no one comes to help you. This was Josh's time to really nail him now. He slowly pulled out of the gas station and steadily approached the spot where Galen was pulled over. Josh rolled down the passenger side window and slowed down to just a few miles per hour. Camera in hand, Josh quickly snapped a picture of the scene. The flash caught Galen's attention and he made eye contact with him for a brief moment.

The officer picked the bag back up and hesitantly put it to his nose. He took a small whiff, and immediately could tell the substance was nothing more than sugar. He zipped the bag back up and tossed it on the back of the car. The officer seemed to give him a short lecture of some kind, and then handed him back his registration and let him on his way. Josh quickly turned off the main road and zig-zagged around, in case the little twirp tried to follow him. If he dared. Galen had seen who it was, and Josh doubted that he would dare cross this angry father's path.

Upon Josh's arrival home, he quickly printed the photo evidence off on his printer. He held it up to have a good look in pride. He'd embarrassed the hell out of him in front of his friends and that wasn't going to be the worst of it.

Josh knocked on Audrey's door, who, for once, civilly answered back and told him he could come in. It's as if she knew. As Josh walked in holding something behind his back, Audrey immediately noticed the look on his face, like he was up to no good. Like he had a plan.

"What?" She asked him, smiling slightly.

"You're even going to love me or hate me." He began, hooking her in. By the now full-blown smile on his face, Audrey guessed it would be the former.

"Okay." She grinned as he sat with her on her bed. Audrey sat up a little straighter in anticipation.

He whipped out the photo and displayed it for his daughter. Audrey put her hand up to her mouth and covered it, lurching forward slightly in laughter.

"I know I'm crazy. You've know that since you were, what, two minutes old?"

"Dad, what did you do?" She exclaimed, not knowing what to think.

"Don't worry – he's not in legal trouble." Josh cleared up. "I planted a bag of sugar in his glove compartment and had the police pull him over. I snapped this shot on my way by. Whaddaya think?"

"I don't know what to say, dad!" She laughed, still shocked. "Why the hell did you do this?"

"You know why. He got a taste of his own medicine."

"Thanks….I guess." She looked at him with admiration. Audrey hadn't looked at him like that since she was nine years old and he dressed up as his interpretation of a republican for Halloween – a pseudohead stuck to the back of his pants, appearing to go up his ass.

Josh sighed. She didn't seem to get all that this could entail. Audrey had a fine mind – but she just didn't think as evilly as he did. She'd come around. Audrey took the photo from his hands and gazed at it, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Audrey." He got her attention again. "Have you ever heard of blackmail?"

Audrey looked up at him immediately. "Excuse me?"

"Blackmail." He repeated. "It's when you…"

"I know what it is, dad, I'm not stupid."

"Sorry." He readjusted himself in excitement. "Audrey, you work for the yearbook, you know. And you know people in the school newspaper."

"Yeah."

"Do you realize what you could do?"

Audrey got an interested look on her face, but retained her excitement.

"Dad, are you encouraging me to blackmail my ex-boyfriend with an incriminating photo?"

Josh looked away, noting in his head that she'd just called Galen her 'ex-boyfriend'. "You didn't hear it from me."

Audrey punched him in the shoulder. "Dad! I can't believe you!"

"I'm just saying – "

"Dad." She put her hand on his foot seriously. "I appreciate what you did, I really do." She smiled and looked at him directly. "But I don't think I could do that."

Josh didn't respond, and looked at his daughter, assessing her.

Here was Josh, thinking Audrey was a vengeful person, who would want to take the easy, fun way out, and she'd just proven she was a better person than he was at the tender age of sixteen. That was his girl. She was all grown up and was already teaching him things.

Josh took her hands in his, serious. "You're such a better person than I am. I'm so proud of you."

"Dad." She was uncomfortable at his corniness, looking away. Josh shook her hands gently to get her to look back at him. "I'm serious. You are." He looked her straight in the eye.

"Thanks, dad." She said amiably. These moments were rare between the two of them, as they were normally at each other's throats. Josh brought her hand up and kissed the back of it.

He cleared his throat. "Okay, enough corniness, I know." Josh stood up and picked up the discarded photo from the bed.

"If you change your mind…"

"Dad!"

"I'll keep it in my bedside drawer if you ever need it." He quickly said as he opened the door. Josh looked back at Audrey, who was smiling. He winked at her before stepping out and closing the door. Audrey couldn't help but laugh to herself after he'd left. That was her dad.

Josh and Donna decided to make an exception to the girls being grounded for two weeks. Ella's mother had called Thursday night because she had a business emergency come up and needed to travel to Baltimore the next day for the weekend. The Lymans happily agreed to let Ella stay at their house, provided the girls didn't invite anyone else over. Josh and Donna were always happy to open their home to Ella. Her mother was thankful for this, as she didn't want to leave Ella home alone. She'd been a pistol lately and didn't want to leave her daughter home alone all weekend. Carol Parker trusted no one more than the Lymans with her daughter. They'd been there for them through everything – Ella's diagnosis, her husband's affair, and when John left the family. The Lymans were like family to Carol and Ella.

Fridays had officially become Katie's therapy day. The last couple of meetings had left Katie feeling pretty down afterwards, but on this Friday, she actually felt charged when she left the office. Dr. Hampton had advised her to talk to her parents more about her feelings concerning the pressure she was under. It wasn't going to be easy, but Katie finally felt ready to bring it up. Donna picked her up this Friday and she made a declaration of her intentions to talk to them about things in the car on the way home.

Donna and Katie arrived home to a jubilant atmosphere in the family kitchen. Josh and Ella were already bantering away some subject off on a tangent. It appeared that the three of them were trying to clean up a little bit.

Donna set her bag down on top of the counter and sighed, glad it was Friday.

"Hey, can't you see we're trying to clean up in here?" Josh said playfully, giving her a look.

"Then why don't you get this white trash out of the kitchen?" She shot back at him, and playfully swatted him on the behind.

"Oh!" All three girls chimed at once. Josh acted insulted.

"No meatloaf for you!" He said in his best Soup-Nazi voice. Josh returned his attention to the stove, where he was cooking some green beans.

"That should add another year to my life, avoiding that crap." Donna jested.

"You've got that right." Ella commented. Josh was used to hearing it from Donna, but didn't intend to let Ella get away without her comment being unanswered. Josh turned to her with an evil, playful look in his eye. Quick as can be, Josh took her in to a head lock and started giving her a noogie. Ella screamed in protest.

"Mr. Lyman! Stop! Stop! I didn't mean it!" She laughed, karate chopping his knees in protest.

"How does my meatloaf taste, Ella?"

"It's a delicacy!" She yelled underneath his armpit, pleading with him. "I'll savor every bite!"

He held her there for a few more seconds.

"Please, it stinks under here!" That got her another knuckle rub to the head, and then he finally let her go.

Ella fixed her hair, smiling. "God, you guys are like Neanderthals."

Josh made a sudden movement towards her, causing her to scream out loud again.

"I know where you sleep, Ella. You better watch it."

"Right back at you." She said. The room fell silent for a few moments, then Ella spoke up again.

"Hey!" She suddenly got very excited again. "We need to play the 8-8-5 game! We haven't played it in forever!" Ella exclaimed, causing Audrey and Katie to clap their hands in excitement. The 8-8-5 game was a game the girls had invented when they were eleven years old. They loved to mess with the American University students in town. All the numbers connected to the university's dorm system began with 8-8-5, so they would just randomly plug in four more numbers to reach some poor kid in the dorms.

"Aren't you a little too old to be doing that?" Donna protested.

"Never!" Audrey said. She rushed to the phone on the other side of the kitchen and the twins followed her. Ella was the ringleader in this and was the master of prank calls.

Donna and Josh looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Ella dialed a random number, a smile spread wide across her face. Audrey and Katie were giggling, trying to suppress their laughter.

"Hello?" Ella said as the victim on the other line picked up.

"Um, yes, this is Susan Anthony from the Registrar's Office. Sorry to bother you, but I have some good news and some bad news. We have a problem with your students loans."

Ella paused as the other person spoke.

"Well, you see, your federal loan seems to have not gone through, so all the classes you are taking this semester are actually void unless you can come up with $15,000 by Monday."

Ella listened intently to the person on the other end and the twins leaned in to catch what he was saying.

"Yes, I do have some good news. I just saved a load of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!" She punched the off button and burst out laughing along with Katie and Audrey. Donna smiled and Josh let out a loud laugh, full dimples showing.

Once the girls had caught their breath, Katie encouraged Ella to go farther.

"Do another! Do another!" She pleaded. Ella was definitely the comic relief in this house.

Ella dialed another number and waited for someone to pick up. Apparently, no one was home.

"Voice mail." She said. Ella was about to hang up when something caught her attention. She pressed the phone back to her ear and smiled widely again.

"Ha!" She yelled. "Zack Hanson! His name is Zack Hanson!" She started cracking up again. "Oh, I have the best idea!" Katie and Audrey were already rolling, but quickly controlled their voices. Their faces were red as they listened intently.

Ella waited for the boy's message to finish, biting her thumbnail in anticipation. She gestured with her hands when she finally started to speak.

"Zack Hanson! Ohmigod! Zack Hanson! Is it really you? I've been in love with you for eight years!" She exclaimed in animation. "Ohmigod, I can't believe it's you! Hey, hey, hey." She tried to settle down. "Why don't you call your brothers, bring your drum set and tell them to bring their guitars. We can meet outside your dorm and we can all sing 'Mmmmmbop!' together and it'll be so much fun! Call me!" She clicked the off button again. Katie and Audrey sunk to the floor in laughter and Ella did a little dance, celebrating her genius.

"You kill me." Josh shook his head, scratching the back of his hair.

The girls continued to laugh even when the phone began to ring again. They obviously weren't able to answer the phone, so Donna stepped over the bodies on the floor and picked up the cordless phone, smiling. Ella reminded her of what was important in life. Just having fun and being with her family. Donna was about to be reminded just how lucky she was.

Donna walked into the living room to get away from the noise, putting a finger to the ear that wasn't covered by the phone.

"Hello?" She answered. "Yes, this is Donna Lyman." Josh watched her intently from the kitchen, stirring the green beans.

"Yes she's here." Donna stopped walking and stood still in the middle of the room.

"What?" She put her hand over her mouth, and then quickly to her chest.

Josh immediately sensed something was terribly wrong and went to join his wife. Donna started to bend down in shock and might have collapsed if Josh hadn't taken a firm grip on her arms and led her back to the couch, the girls' laughter still apparent in the background.

Donna's face scrunched up as she began to cry, putting her right hand up to her forehead. Josh put his hand on her back and rubbed it supportively.

"Okay. Yes, I understand. No. Yes. No, we'll do it. You'll be here in half an hour? Okay. Yeah. Bye." Donna said tearfully, shaking slightly. She removed the phone from her ear and stared at it for a moment before pushing the off button. Minutes before, Ella had been giggling into this phone, which made the situation that much more ironic.

"What is it?" Josh whispered, sensing he shouldn't bring attention to the situation.

Donna took a deep breath and finally met her husband's eyes and put a hand on his knee.

"Ella's mom was just killed in a car accident."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"_My Immortal" – Evanescence_

_I'm so tired of being here_

_Suppressed by all my childish fears_

_And if you have to leave_

_I wish that you would just leave_

_Because your presence still lingers here_

_And it won't leave me alone_

_These wounds won't seem to heal_

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just so much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you screamed, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have all of me_

_You used to captivate me by your resonating light_

_Now I'm bound by the life you left behind_

_Your face, it haunts my once pleasant dreams_

_Your voice, it chased away all the sanity in me_

_These wounds won't seem to heal_

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you screamed, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have all of me_

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone_

_And though you're still with me_

_I've been alone all the while_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you screamed, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have all of me_

Eleanor Anne Parker nervously sat on her best friend Audrey's bed as she waited for Mrs. Lyman to join her. Donna was currently at the door, which was half closed, as she poked her head out the crack, telling Josh something. She didn't like the mood that had suddenly overcome the house ever since Donna had answered a phone call. Josh and Donna had all of a sudden become very uptight and worried. Fear was plastered on their faces. They half-heartedly tried to hide it from the girls, but obviously planned on immediately telling them what was going on.

"Take them into Katie's room." Ella heard Donna tell her husband. She whispered something else to her daughters, and she heard both of the twins nervously question their mother. "Just go."

Donna finally closed the door, not looking at Ella. She slowly crossed the room, stepping over a few objects, and sat near Ella on the bed. Donna took a deep breath as she searched for answers on the floor. Donna thought the conversation she'd had with her own daughter about drugs just a few weeks ago was going to be the hardest conversation she'd ever have, but that theory had just been thrown out the window. She was going to have to tell Ella that her own mother had just been killed in a car wreck. It should be against the law to have to do this.

Donna put a hand on Ella's knee. "Ella, baby?" Her voice was weak.

"What?" Worry was evident in her face. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Ella, this is going to be very hard to hear, so you need to bear with me."

Ella's heart dropped. Something horrible's happened, but now she just needed to know.

"Okay, what?"

"Ella," Donna swallowed in dread. Ella could tell she was having a really hard time with whatever it was. "Ella, I just got a call from the police."

"What did I do?" She immediately dreaded being in trouble.

"No, no. You didn't do anything wrong, baby." Donna wished it was as simple and seemingly unimportant as that was. "It was about your mother."

"What about her?" Ella immediately felt her heartbeat start to go much faster. Her mother had left this afternoon. Oh, God. Where is she?

"She…" Donna had to put her hand to her mouth to stop from crying. "Ella, she swerved to hit a deer, and, um…" Donna watched Ella's face change from worry to horror in a matter of a few words, "And she got in a car accident, sweetheart."

Ella stood up. "Oh my God! Where is she? I need to go see her! She's probably so upset!" She began to cry and started moving around uneasily.

Donna shook her head. "No, sweetheart. You can't" She said quietly.

Deep down, Ella could tell then what had happened, but she went into denial mode.

"What do you mean?" She questioned innocently. "You can take me to her right? Is she in the hospital or something? I'll go with you." She kept talking to avoid hearing what she knew was coming next.

"You can't, sweetheart." A few tears escaped from Donna's eyes. "She didn't make it, honey. She was pronounced dead on the scene."

Ella just stood there for a minute. The moment just seemed surreal to her at that moment. She'd just spoken to her mother this morning. She couldn't be dead. Donna just stared up at Ella, wishing she would say something. To let it out. She needed to know what she was thinking.

Donna delicately reached her hand up to her daughters' friend, trying to offer an ounce of comfort, though she can't imagine how it could help at this moment.

As if just awoken from a trance, Ella quickly snatched her hand from Donna, and held it close to her chest possessively. Ella looked back at her as if she'd just run over her kitten. A look of utter betrayal, and amidst it all, hurt, confusion, and loneliness.

"Ella, please." Donna begged. "Come sit down."

"No!" She yelled.

The sharp and painful yell coming from the next room caused Josh, Katie, and Audrey to immediately look up in concern. Josh had just got done explaining what had happened to Ella's mother, at least the scrappy information he knew.

"Oh, God." Audrey started, who was already tearful from the news. "I need to go in there. She needs me." She started to get up, but felt her father's hand quickly pull her back down to the bed where the three had been sitting.

"Audrey, no." Josh urged gently, "Just leave them for a few minutes."

Audrey began crying again. "But, dad, she needs me! I'm her best friend."

Josh pulled her into another hug as he sat in the middle of his twin girls. Katie was silent and hadn't shed a tear yet, still in shock from the news. His baby girls had never experienced the death of anyone close to them before in their lives. Josh had experienced several and was doing his best to guide them through the difficult initial stage.

"I know you do, sweetheart, and she'll need you lots in the near future. But let's just let mom talk to her for now, okay? We don't want to overwhelm her."

Audrey nodded, her head snuggled close to her father. She was trusting him to tell her how to do the right thing. This was a totally new feeling to her, and she didn't like it one bit. Audrey was surprised by the ease of once again trusting her dad again in mere seconds. They'd been at each other's throats a lot lately. She'd been angry at him for a long time, but all that seemed to be so unimportant now. Ella was now practically an orphan. She hadn't seen her father in two years. He'd called her three times within that timeframe. And now her mother was dead. Audrey immediately realized just how lucky she was. Both of her parents were right here with her. And they both told her they loved her every day – in words; in a loving touch, in joking around. She snuggled in a little closer to her father.

Back in Audrey's room, Ella was just beginning her ungraceful fall into grief. Feeling too alone and edgy to be touched, she was pacing the room, chewing on one of her thumbnails. Donna didn't say anything, not knowing the words, as she watched her walk back and forth. She gradually saw Ella's face start to redden in raw emotion, bottling it up. Finally, she saw tears begin to brim in her eyes, then she turned away, walking back to the door. When Ella turned around again, her mouth was opening in a silent cry. That was the worst kind. Her mouth wanted to make the sound, but her voice hadn't allowed her to catch up yet. As she reached the bed, a high-pitched squeak worked its way out. Finally, the release. A full-fledged wail was next. It pierced the new sunset that was forming just outside the window. The same sun that had been there all her life, just like her mother. And now her mother was gone. She stopped in her tracks and put her hand up to her mouth, resting the other hand on her hip. Ella saw Donna get up off the bed immediately. The gesture made her collapse as she started to kneel down to the floor.

Donna flung her arms around Ella as she slowly helped her down to sit on the floor. She didn't seem it right to try to shoosh her, so she just said nothing and stroked her hair as she let Ella sob. With each deep breath in, the piercing sound that followed stabbed Donna in the heart each time. Such pain for such a young girl. She prayed to God to give this poor girl a little strength and comfort and to give herself the strength to support Ella. Donna slowly rocked Ella back and forth on the floor, as if they were the only two people in the world. All she could do was hold her.

"Daddy, can we go in there yet?" Audrey asked Josh. Josh mentally noted was Audrey had called him – she was feeling vulnerable, scared and alone. Audrey had calmed down a bit now. The three Lymans had been sitting in silence for the past fifteen minutes or so. They'd been listening for any hint of how things were going in the next room. Ella had bawled for about twenty minutes straight, but now it was just silent.

Josh kissed Audrey on the head and then patted her back. "Let me go check on them, okay? You just stay here for a minute." Josh looked to his left at his other daughter, who still had not cried. He'd have to keep an eye on her. Josh had learned from experience that keeping it all in was the worst thing to do. He kissed her on the head also before getting up and heading out the door. Josh stopped outside Audrey's room and put his ear close to the door to listen for any sound. Nothing.

He slowly pushed the door open. His eyes fell upon two bodies on the floor of the bedroom. Donna was cradling Ella in her arms and she was breathing quite steadily, but could tell she had just been through an emotional roller coaster. Donna looked up at her husband and communicated to him without words to come help her.

Josh carefully stepped over Ella's legs and sat down on the floor with them. He reached out and tucked a piece of fallen hair behind Ella's ear, allowing him to see her face.

"Ella, baby?" He said gently.

Ella didn't answer, but looked up at him, acknowledging his presence.

"Hi, sweetheart." He almost asked how she was doing, but stopped himself, thinking it was a pretty stupid question. "Do you want me to get you some water?" He didn't know how to help. She shook her head no.

"Okay." He looked up at the door, remembering Audrey's concern. "Audrey and Katie are really worried about you. Would you like to see them? It may help."

Ella seemed to ponder for a moment. Finally, she nodded a yes.

"Okay." He patted her shoulder, then leaned over and kissed her head, something he'd never done before. But somehow he felt responsible for her now.

Donna continued to hold Ella, gently stroking her hair back as Josh went to get the girls. Audrey was first to appear at the door, followed by Josh, who seemed to be coaxing Katie along. Audrey rushed to Ella's side where Josh had just been and layed down next to her, throwing an arm around her body.

"Oh, Ella…" She cried, sending her friend back into tears. They just stared at each other as they both cried. Donna was in mother mode, gently comforting each of them with her hands.

Katie had been standing back halfway between the two doors, not knowing what she should do. She stared into the room at her mother, sister, and friend all on the floor. Her father was standing in the doorway watching. Sensing her hesitance, he looked back at her and then stepped back, putting a supportive hand between her shoulder blades and guiding her to the doorway.

"It's okay." He said softly. He stopped at the entrance and then brought her into a hug. Katie held onto him tight and turned her head away from the sobbing threesome on the floor. She knew what was going on but didn't want to acknowledge it.

The hugging was soon interrupted by the doorbell. This startled Donna, Josh, and Katie, but didn't elicit a budge from Audrey or Ella. Josh gently released Katie from his arms and walked to the front door. He could see out the window that it was the police officer who had called a little over a half hour before.

Josh opened the door to the police officer, who had a solemn look on his face.

"Please come in." Josh said quietly.

"Thank you, sir. I'm Officer Michaels. I was the one who called earlier." The police officer took his hat off as he entered the house.

Josh shook Officer Michaels' hand and led him into the living room, introducing himself as he did so.

"She's in my daughter's bedroom with my wife and my kids." Josh explained.

"How is she so far?"

"Crushed." Josh stated simply.

"I can't imagine." They stopped in the living room as the officer sought to explain the situation more.

"Please sit down." Josh gestured to the couch. The officer did and laced his fingers together.

"Well, Mr. Lyman, I'd like to give you some more of the details of the crash if you don't mind. I don't know if Miss Parker is ready to take it all in yet, so I'll let you use your judgment on that."

"Okay." Josh nodded simply.

"Ms. Parker was driving west on Interstate 70, when a deer crossed her path. She swerved to miss it, but was then hit near the left front wheel of her car by another vehicle traveling in the left lane. The hit sent her car tumbling. It overturned several times and landed in a ditch off to the side of the road. When the paramedics arrived, she was already gone. The other driver is in critical condition."

Josh looked away and ran a hand through his hair. "So fast." He whispered.

"Yeah. This type of death is usually hardest on families. It's so unexpected." He paused and looked down. "We couldn't get a hold of her husband. Are you aware of his whereabouts?"

Josh snorted in disgust at the thought of Ella's father. "He's in California. He hasn't talked to them in months. I have his number in case of emergencies, but he doesn't seem to have any interest at all in Ella."

"That's a shame." The officer said, not knowing what to say.

"Yeah."

"Well, Mr. Lyman, I hate to have to bring this up, but we need to get a hold of Mr. Parker because he's legally now her guardian.

Oh, God, Josh thought to himself. That hadn't even crossed his mind. He exhaled sharply and deeply.

"It's a little late to be doing anything tonight, Mr. Lyman. Ella was supposed to be sleeping over tonight?"

"Yes, sir."  
"Okay. We'll just have her stay here for tonight. But I'll call you tomorrow." Officer Michaels stood up and put his hat back on.

"Thank you, officer." Josh stood also and put his hands in his jeans pockets. "We'll take good care of her."

"I'm sure you will. Give her my condolences."

"I will. Thanks again." Josh walked him to the door and closed it behind him as he left.

Josh slowly made his way back to Audrey's room where he found Katie still standing alone at the door, nervously chewing on her fingernails, staring blankly down at her sister, friend, and mother. Josh put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple gently and they just stood like that for what seemed like an eternity. Every second was like an eternity.

The three women stayed on the floor for several hours and Josh eventually led Katie to bed. After tucking her in, Josh closed her door reluctantly, knowing that she still needed someone with her. But he needed to take care of Donna, Ella and Audrey first in the next room. Ella and Audrey had slowly drifted to sleep, exhausted from the emotions they'd been experiencing the past few hours. Donna had been sitting there with them the entire time, one girl on each side. She looked up at Josh guiltily. She was exhausted herself but didn't want to leave if they still needed her. Donna didn't want to wake them by moving, but she desperately needed rest herself. Josh helped her out by getting their camper mattress from the closet. He quickly inflated it in the living room with an air pump and brought it into Audrey's room. He set it down on the floor next to the pile of girls, then gently gripped Ella under the armpits, dragging her limp, exhausted body onto the mattress. With one side of her free, Donna did the same with Audrey. Josh took her feet and together, they set her down next to Ella. They got a large blanket from the closet and two pillows for the girls and then stood and looked down at them.

"How long has it been since she's eaten?" Donna inquired, concerned about her blood sugar level.

Josh glanced at his watch. It was 12:30 now. They'd eaten dinner around 6:00.

"Shit, Donna. It's been around six hours." He put a hand on his hip and shifted his weight.

"She needs to be at 120 before going to bed. Let me go get the AccuCheck." Donna left the room to go get the blood sugar testing device and Josh knelt down next to the mattress. He gently removed her right arm from under the blanket, getting her ready to be tested.

Donna soon returned with the AccuCheck. She'd never done this while Ella was asleep. Ella was out like a light, though, so she figured she wouldn't feel it. Donna was pretty sure her blood sugar would be pretty low, so they'd probably have to wake her to give her something anyway.

Donna gently took Ella's hand in hers and rubbed alcohol over her middle finger. She hadn't used the AccuCheck in years, but remembered how to use it in an instant. Donna pressed the button that shot the tiny needle into Ella's finger, drawing a drop of blood. Carefully handling the testing strip, Donna gathered up the needed amount of blood and then slipped the strip into the machine. Moments later, the reading came back. It showed that Ella's blood sugar was at 55, which was way below what she need to be at bedtime.

"Shit." Josh said, knowing this was not a good sign.

"We'll have to give her some fast-acting glucagons."

The Lymans had diligently kept a fresh supply of fast-acting glucagon at their home, since Ella was over so often. The emergency device, a needle, was kept in a separate container, which Donna quickly retrieved.

Donna remembers from her crash-course years ago that the best place to give an emergency insulin shot was in the abdomen where it was absorbed the fastest. Josh was glad that Donna knew what she was doing, because he'd forgotten all of this.

"She'll need this in her abdomen, Josh. I don't know if she'll wake up, so would you please just hold her arms in case she does."

"Yeah." Josh responded. He was just glad he wouldn't have to give the shot. He absolutely hated needles and blood. Josh decided a long time ago that if he ever had diabetes, he'd probably just die because he couldn't stand being poked all the time. Ella was so brave.

Donna prepared the syringe as Josh moved above Ella's head. Donna lifted Ella's tank top up just above her belly button and took a chunk of skin into her left hand, knowing that the glucagon had to go into fat. Josh looked away as he saw the needle about to penetrate the skin, holding Ella's upper arms in case she woke and flinched.

Donna pushed the needle into Ella's abdomen, making a bit of a face as she did. Ella did flinch a little, but seemed too out of it to care. Josh tightened his grip a little bit for a second, but then backed off as he witnessed her lack of reaction. Donna let go of the skin as soon as the needle was in and then started injecting the medicine. When it was all gone, she pulled the needle out and Ella's tank top back down.

Josh and Donna both simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief as the task was done. Donna sat down, exhausted, and rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand.

"We'll still need to call the doctor to get her checked out, Josh."

"Yeah." Josh sighed from where he was exhaustively leaning up against a chair.

"Dr. Meyer might be able to help us. I don't want to have to take her to the hospital tonight. She's exhausted and so are we." Dr. Meyer lived just two doors down from the Lymans. Though it wasn't ideal because she wasn't Ella's doctor, they thought an exception could be made considering the circumstances.

Josh made the call, waking Dr. Meyer from her sleep. Once informed of the situation, she was glad to help. Ella was barely aware of what was going on, either just being exhausted or not caring, or a combination of both. The three adults kept a close eye on her for a while, checking her blood sugar often. Dr. Meyer felt her unresponsiveness was in large part due to the huge emotional blow she'd just been dealt. They got her blood sugar up to 125 before Dr. Meyer left. Finally, Josh and Donna were able to go to bed themselves, though they both were sure it would be an almost sleepless night. There would be so much to think about in the morning. Where would Ella go? They'd need to call her father in California. What if he wanted to fly her to California right away? How would Ella deal with that? Many things filled their heads as they drifted off into a deep but short sleep.

Josh and Donna woke early the next morning around 8:00, not able to sleep much. All three girls were still asleep as they quietly ate breakfast in the bar together.

"What time is it in California?" Josh finally asked.

Donna calculated in her head slowly.

"Well, they're three hours behind us, so, I guess it would be about five in the morning."

Josh shook his head. "We should have thought of that last night. We could've called him then."

"Josh, there was too much going on. We'll call him later." She ran her hand up and down his forearm comfortingly.

"You're right." He bent down and kissed her hand. "I'll call him later."

"Hi guys." Josh and Donna looked up to see Ella standing before them. She was still in the clothes she was wearing last night, but they were a little wrinkled after being slept in.

"Ella!" They both chimed, getting up from their seats. All they knew how to do was be supportive of her and do whatever she needed them to do.

Josh went to go get a cereal bowl from the cupboard and Donna went to her side, taking a hand in hers and gently stroking back her hair.

"Hi, Ella, honey. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah." She rubbed her stomach. One side of it ached a little bit. She didn't know why.

"I didn't check my blood sugar last night." Her mind immediately went to her nightly routine that she hadn't performed for the first time in a long time.

"We did after you went to sleep, baby." Donna explained, guiding her to sit on one of the stools.

"You did? I didn't know you knew how."

"I remembered from years ago." Donna said, taking the seat next to her. "It was pretty low, so we had to inject some fast-acting glucagon."

"In my stomach?" Ella guessed from the pain there.

"Yeah. Does it hurt?"

"A little." She nodded. "I don't remember." She said, a little troubled by the revelation.

"You were exhausted, Ella." Donna reached out and stroked her bangs to the side.

"Why didn't I go to the doctor?" Ella knew what was supposed to happen.

"Dr. Meyer from down the street came over. She fixed you up."

"Oh." Ella said quietly, resting her chin in her hand.

"What kind of cereal do you want?" Josh asked.

"One cup of Cheerios, please." She said politely, "With a cup of orange juice."

"You got it." Josh said. Maybe you're being a bit too upbeat, Josh thought to himself. He didn't quite know how to act.

"So, it wasn't just a bad dream?" Ella asked, looking at Josh.

Josh paused pouring the cereal and looked down, sadly. He wished he could take away her pain and bring her mother back. She of all people didn't deserve this. Ella didn't need another tragedy in her life. He'd watched her slowly deteriorate years ago when her father left the family. It was so painful to watch. He didn't want to see it again.

Donna gently rubbed her arm and Ella looked down at it. She blinked her eyes quickly as she felt tears start to burn. Donna saw this and urged her to not bottle up her emotions.

"Don't keep it in, sweetheart. You cry if you need to."

Ella didn't want to cry so early in the morning. The Lymans had been so good to her over the years. They didn't need another burden like this. She put her hand up to her eyes and quietly began to sob. Josh stopped pouring the cereal and leaned back against the counter. Donna got up and drew Ella into a hug.

"Just let it out. Good girl." Donna whispered into her hair. Donna looked over at Josh and silently signaled him to go get Audrey and Katie up. She hated to wake them back into this hell they were all going through, but their main concern right now was Ella, and Ella needed them.

Josh took the hint and first went into Audrey's room. She was already awake, looking up at the ceiling with both arms behind her pillow. Apparently, she'd been woken by the crying.

"Waking up to crying is the worst feeling in the world." She simply stated as she sensed her dad at the door. Josh figured this may take a few minutes, so he closed the door behind him and sat down on the mattress next to Audrey.

"It must be." He acknowledged her feelings. "It's best for her not to keep it bottled up, though."

"I know." She said and he saw a single tear escape her eye.

"Hey." Josh pulled her up to a sitting position gently and hugged her warmly. "I know it's such a shock."

Audrey merely nodded into his shoulder and continued to cry. She was relying on him again as he walked her blindly through this maze of emotion and grief. He didn't know the right way. He only did what he knew how to do. Josh held her for several more minutes until she'd calmed down again. Then he slowly released himself from her embrace.

"Let's go get Katie and eat some breakfast, okay?" He suggested. Audrey nodded in agreement and got up from the mattress, her movements apathetic and forced.

Josh crossed the hall to Katie's room and knocked softly before entering.

"Katie, honey?" He called. Josh saw her sitting up in bed with headphones on, her eyes closed as she let the music spill over her. He didn't hear any hard beats or rhythms, so he figured it must be a sad song. Katie sensed his presence and slowly opened her eyes. She stared back at him blankly. Josh felt as if she was staring right past him. Her expression was just empty. Finally, she removed her headphones as Josh sat on the edge of her bed.

"Whatcha listening to?" He inquired.

"Nothing." She dismissed.

"Okay." He patted her knee over the covers. "We're making breakfast if you want some."

"Is Ella done crying now? I couldn't stand the sound." Josh thought for a brief moment that Katie was trying to be rude, but then dismissed it. She couldn't stand her pain. It was ripping her up inside.

"I know it's hard to listen to." Josh told her.

"I want to help but I don't know what to do." She confessed, looking back at him with her big chocolate eyes, begging for him to guide her through this. He'd felt under qualified for certain positions before. He'd walked into rooms and felt like he didn't know what the hell anyone was talking about, but he'd never been so afraid of answering a question in his life.

"Well, baby," He started, "I think it's just important for Ella to know that you're here if she needs you. Don't worry about saying or doing the right thing. Just give her a hug if she looks like she needs one. Let her just talk to you and spill it all out if she needs to."

Katie looked down at her crossed legs and examined her fingernails. Josh could tell he was getting at something, but didn't know what.

"Dad?" She still stared down.

"Yes, sweetheart." He said gently.

"But what if she makes me cry? I don't want to cry."

Josh scooted a little closer in anticipation of an emotional spillover.

"Why don't you want to cry, sweetheart?" Josh could see parts of her face twitching the way it did when she was trying to hold back tears. She was normally unsuccessfull.

Katie took a deep breath before answering.

"Because I'm afraid I won't be able to stop. And Ella doesn't need that." Katie spit out.

Josh felt his heart break for the third time that day and it was only 8:30.

"Sweetheart, you're not going to burden her by crying. It's okay to cry. Everyone needs to let their emotions out."

"But I'm so scared." She finally let out a sharp sob and looked up at Josh, his eyes filled with concern and worry.

"Don't be scared. I'm right here." He pulled her into a hug and Katie finally let her tears go.

"It'll be alright."

Later in the day, Donna took the girls all out to get some ice-cream, a small diversion in this horrible nightmare they were going through. Donna and Josh had discussed this and decided this would be the time Josh would call John Parker, Ella's father. They decided it best for Ella to be out of the house in case there were eruptions and yelling on Josh's part.

Josh exhaled sharply as he picked up the cordless phone in his left hand, his address book balanced in his right opened to the 'P' section. He reluctantly started dialing the California number, dreading the conversation that was ahead. It would take all his strength not to explode on this guy.

Josh cleared his throat as he finished dialing the number and took a seat on the living room couch. He waited and heard John's voice pick up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" The voice sounded groggy, even though it was 9 a.m. on the west coast.

"John Parker?"

"Yes. Who is this?" You're a fucking asshole piece of shit, Josh wanted to scream, but swallowed it back.

"This is Joshua Lyman from D.C." He stated instead and waited for John to remember him. They'd once been good friends when the girls were young, until he found out that he abused Ella and Carol. Piece of shit.

"Oh, yes!" John pretended to be happy to hear from him. The man who had punched him in the face after he cheated on his wife. "It's a surprise to hear from you. How's it going?"

Josh rolled his eyes. "Not too good."

"Oh?"

"Mr. Parker, your ex-wife was killed in a car accident yesterday afternoon. Swerved to miss a deer and ended up overturning."

Josh waited and heard a long pause on the other end of the line.

"Oh, God."

"Ella's staying here with us for the time being, but we need to talk about what's going to happen with her. The police are checking out her Will, but I just wanted to let you know what was going on."

"Oh, man." He chuckled humorlessly, not knowing what to say. "Not exactly the call I was needing to hear." He said thoughtlessly.

Josh punched the sofa arm, pretending it was him. Selfish son of a bitch.

"Well, we're not concerned with how you're feeling, John. We're worried sick about _your_ daughter. She's crushed, in case you're too out of the realm of human emotion to care or understand. We need to talk to her about what's going to happen with her. She's practically an orphan, seeing that you're on the other side of the fucking country!" Josh's voice had been slowly escalating, punctuated by his use of profanity.

"You're right. I'm sorry Josh." He quickly apologized, but Josh could tell it was a half-hearted one. He didn't care about anyone else but himself.

"Donna and I have been making the funeral arrangements. Would you like to fly out for the funeral?" He offered, though if he saw his ugly mug there, mourning the wife he beat and trying to comfort the daughter he abandoned, Josh would sock him in the face.

"Um, well. I'm not really sure if I'd be welcome. I'd better not." John said.

"Okay, good." Josh answered, letting him know his true feelings.

"I better fly out there though. To see Ella." He added.

Josh felt nauseous at the thought of that man being anywhere near Ella. She was like his third daughter now, and he felt he needed to protect her, even if it was from her biological father.

"Fine. Why don't you book a flight for Monday evening. The funeral will be that morning."

"Okay. Thanks Josh, I appreciate it."

Josh bit his lip to keep from screaming. "You are the worst piece of shit." He spat out and hung up the phone. Josh immediately started breathing in and out heavily and ran a hand through his hair, feeling dirty having just talked to John. He'd let his angry get the best of him, but he wasn't sorry for it.

The weekend was very difficult for the whole family and for Ella. With nothing to do but think of Carol, those couple of days had been mournful and sad, filled with happy memories and the grief over the absence of her presence. The Lymans did their best to support Ella and be there for her, but there was no way this was going to be easy. The funeral was as beautiful as any funeral could be. Beautiful flowers adorned the church and droves of people came to pay their respects. Josh, for some reason, always kept his eye on the door, afraid that John and all his stupidity would walk in. Luckily, he didn't, and Ella was able to grieve the way she should be able to, without that bastard anywhere in sight. John didn't deserve Ella's love.

Ella knew her father would be arriving that night and had a nervous pit in her stomach the entire day. She didn't want to see him. She'd be a happy woman if she never saw him again in her life. Carol had been a young, naïve mother. At the time of her death, she was only 34 years old. The police searched for her Will, but didn't find it because there wasn't one. Josh and Donna couldn't understand why she wouldn't have made one, seeing the history she had with her husband. Ella would have to be turned over to her father, the only living relative anyone knew of. When Donna told her the news, Ella ran to the bathroom and immediately vomited at the thought. Carol hadn't made a Will because she hadn't thought about dying in all her youth. But people die unexpectedly. The thought of Ella being anywhere near John, let alone living with him again and having to move across the country was heart-wrenching and utterly nauseating. They'd fight this to the end.

A taxi cab pulled up about the Lyman residence at about 8:30 that night. Ella was sitting in the living room reluctantly. She hadn't seen her father in two years. He hadn't even called her for her sweet sixteen birthday.

Donna got up to go meet him at the front door. He looked tired, but was well-dressed in dress slacks and a sport coat, carrying one small suitcase. Donna hoped he wasn't thinking he was welcome to stay here. They'd pay for a hotel room for him at the last resort.

Donna opened the door before he had a chance to knock.

"Mr. Parker." She greeted him with a frown on her face.

"Donna!" He exclaimed. He hadn't seen her in years and she still looked just as beautiful as she did in her twenties when he met her. John leaned in to kiss her on the cheek but Donna pulled away, instead holding out her hand and shaking it.

"Won't you come in?" She asked politely. Donna moved to the side as he entered their home and placed his suitcase in the front hall. He turned the corner and Donna followed behind him. Josh and the three girls all sat on the couch, staring back at him judgmentally. Josh wanted to pommel him right then, but his mind was focused on how Ella was feeling.

John stopped in his tracks when he saw Ella. Boy, she'd grown up. She'd turned into a beautiful young woman, no thanks to him. Ella stared back at him with hate equal to the fire of a thousand suns.

"Ella." He simply said. Ella didn't say anything but continued to stare him down, arms crossed protectively across her stomach. "Come here, I haven't seen you in years." He held out his arms naively, forgetting that she wasn't seven years old any more, willing to forgive him so easily with her innocent perspective on life. She was sixteen years old now and she knew better.

"And whose fault is that?" She asked him, straight up.

John let his arms down, deflated by the comment. Take that, Josh thought to himself, his eyes drilling into the small fraction of a man.

"Can I have some privacy?" John asked, looking at each of the Lymans. No one moved for a few seconds, but then Donna urged them all along.

"Come on guys, let's go into our room." She reluctantly suggested. Ella looked terrified suddenly, not wanting to be left in the room alone with him. Donna anticipated her fear and quickly added, "We'll be watching closely. Ella, we're right here." Donna nodded her head reassuringly.

Ella drew up all her strength for the event. What to say? He didn't know her anymore and she didn't want him to. Let him try to make his apologies and condolences and be on his way. Good riddance. She wasn't going anywhere with that ass.

John timidly walked over to the couch and sat down far away from Ella, not wanting to intrude on her.

"You look great, honey." He laughed. "The last time I saw you…"

"Don't, John." She cut him off, surprising him by calling him by his first name.

"John?" He questioned. "Since when do you call me John?"

"Since I haven't seen you in two years. I don't think that qualifies you as my father anymore. You stopped being my father the day you slapped me across the face when I was three."

"Ella, I don't want to…"

"Don't want to what?" She snapped. "Be reminded of the piece of shit that you are? Fine, I'll let you indulge yourself." John shook his head, insulted, and looked at the ground, fingers laced.

"Anyways, we need to talk about what's going to happen to you. Your mom didn't make out a Will, so legally, I'm now your guardian."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." She stared at the floor.

"Honey, I'm afraid you don't have a choice."

"Don't call me that!" She yelled suddenly, sitting up. "You have no right to call me that!"

John flinched a little at her reaction.

"Fine. Sorry." He apologized. "I don't like it anymore than you do." He told her selfishly. Josh had been listening closely from the door, and Donna had to hold him back so he wouldn't tear after John and throttled him right then and there.

Ella breathed out heavily.

"I'm not surprised by that. But I'm not going with you. Over my dead body. I'm staying with the Lymans. They'll adopt me."

Donna and Josh felt their hearts break simultaneously and held onto each other. They'd let Ella stay with them in a heartbeat and had even discussed it with each other, but it tugged at their heartstrings to hear Ella say it.

"Ella, don't be ridiculous. The last thing they need is someone like you to fuck up their lives."

With that, Josh bolted out the door and this time Donna didn't even try to stop him. John was obviously startled as Josh grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the family room, across the hall from the front door. He pinned him up against the wall. Josh's face was centimeters away from John's.

"Listen, you sack of shit!" Josh started. "Don't you ever EVER speak to Ella that way again, you understand me? You are the worst fucking scumbag on the face of this Earth and you're going straight to hell when you finally die, God willing, pretty damn soon!" Josh boomed. Donna had seen him fuming before, but never like this. Josh was as protective of Ella as he was of his own daughters. Audrey and Katie had since inched their way out of Josh and Donna's room, peeking in the general direction of the family room where their father was chewing out Ella's dad.

"Josh…"

"Get the fuck out of my house and stay the hell away from Ella!" He bellowed right in John's face. He let go of his collar with a forceful shove and watched John walk out the front door, adjusting his shirt. Josh immediately started pacing back and forth, both frustrated and proud that he'd done that. After a few seconds, he quickly turned his attention over to Ella, who was now being held in Donna's arms. His wife was lovingly cradling her head as she stroked her hair. Josh soon took the seat next to Ella and put his right arm around her and kissed her head.

"It's okay." He reassured her as she cried softly. "He's gone now."

Later that evening, Audrey opened the door to her sister's room to see how she was doing. Katie was rummaging around in her underwear drawer for something and quickly shut it as soon as she saw her twin sister. She had a look on her face like her mother had just caught her hand in the cookie jar.

Audrey crept up on her tiptoes curiously at her sister's sudden uptightness.

"What are you doing?" She asked Katie.

Katie nonchalantly backed away from the drawer and started to make her way over to her desk and tried to look busy.

"Oh, nothing. Just, you know…"

"Katie?"

"What? What do you want?" She asked nervously.

Audrey moved to go over to Katie's dresser drawers, and could tell there was something her sister didn't want her to see when she leaped back in front of it, blocking her.

"What are you doing?" Katie asked.

"Katie, you're acting really weird." Audrey told her. She was suspecting the worst at her twin's erratic behavior.

"Are you taking Ritalin again?" She asked her boldly.

"Excuse me?" She said nervously.

"I said are you taking Ritalin again?" Audrey asked a little louder in a chastising tone.

"Why would I be taking Ritalin again?" She put her hands on her hips.

Audrey moved closer to her sister and saw her push back harder on the piece of furniture.

"Then why won't you let me look in your underwear drawer?"

"Because it's private!" She tried to dismiss it.

"What the hell is in there that I haven't seen? Come on!"

"No!" She said firmly. Audrey gave her a look, telling her she was being ridiculous and moved another step forward. She finally decided to push her sister out of the way, sending her tumbling to the floor. Audrey quickly opened the drawer and moved a few undergarments aside to find a little plastic bag with a few of those tiny white pills tucked inside. She held up the evidence in the air as Katie got up off the floor. Katie quickly snatched them out of her sister's hand and shoved them back in the drawer, closing it hard.

"Katie, how could you?" Audrey immediately started in on her sister. She had been doing so well and now, all of a sudden, she was slipping. Audrey didn't doubt it had everything to do with the current situation with Ella and her parents.

"You don't know what it's like!" Katie quickly countered, starting to get teary-eyed.

"Katie!" She started. "Why won't you come to me or mom or dad? You can't shut yourself off like this! Jesus!"

"You're all so damn judgmental!" Katie explained tearfully. "You're doing it right now. I'm Katie, the broken one. She needs help, she's too fragile!"

"We don't think that, Katie." Audrey said calmly, reaching out to touch her sister's arm. Katie took a step back.

"Bullshit! Think about how you acted when you found out. You were so damn cold and bitchy towards me. You do to think I'm weak!"

"I was wrong to do that, Katie, and I'm sorry. But I see what's going on now. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't do this crap, Katie, don't."

Katie breathed in and out nervously and started to wipe at her eyes.

"Let's sit down." Audrey suggested. Katie reluctantly let her sister lead her to the bed where she took her hands.

"Katie, I know this is really hard right now. It sucks. But you can't get back into this. Ella needs us."

"That's why I started again." She admitted. "To be there for her whenever she needed me."

"Katie, you know that's not going to help. You started again for you. Because it's easier on your body that way right now."

Katie didn't say anything and looked down at their hands.

"Who'd you get these from?"

"Ally."

"I'm taking them and flushing them down the toilet. I won't tell mom and dad if you promise me you won't try to get more. Do you promise?"

Katie sighed before nodding slightly. "Yeah."

"Say it."

"I promise." Katie looked at her sister in the eyes, praying that she would keep her word. She didn't want to let her sister down.

"Okay. Let's go see what Ella's up to." Audrey suggested as they both rose to their feet.

That Wednesday, the Lymans decided to take all three girls out to a Celtics basketball game, sensing that all three needed some fun. They hadn't heard from John since the incident, though they knew he was still in town. Josh and Donna were lifelong fans of the Celtics, seeing as their Alma Mater, Harvard, was in Boston. Katie and Audrey had already been brainwashed into fandom since birth, but it was new to Ella.

At halftime, the Celtics were up, and the family of five stood on their feet as a dance group performed for the crowd, clapping their hands to the beat. The three girls watched the dancers closely, being fans of dance themselves.

"Oh, we could totally pull that off." Audrey stated boldly.

"Oh, totally." Katie agreed. They both looked over at Ella, who was standing to their left next to Josh, who was next to Donna. Ella simply smiled back automatically. They all so desperately wanted her to be okay, so she tried her best to put on the act she was doing better. That's what everyone wanted her to be, but she wasn't. Not even close.

"Come on." Audrey started moving to the beat and bumped her hip against Ella's trying to get her to loosen up. Ella just kept clapping. Katie took the hint and started to move like her sister. Josh and Donna looked over at their daughters and smiled a little. They were counting on them to lighten Ella's world a little bit, just like this. Josh was a self-declared goofball and would do anything in the world to get Ella to laugh and enjoy herself a little.

Josh started trying to mimick what his daughters were doing, over-exuberantly swaying his hips from side to side and waving his arms around in the most uncoordinated way possible.

"Come on, Donna!" He encouraged his wife. "Get into it!" He took her hands in his and attempted a few swing moves in the tiny area they had to work with. Donna giggled as she played along, smiling at Ella, who still just clapped her hands with a frown on her face.

Then Josh busted out his best skills. He started doing his routine of robot pop-locking, moving stiffly and then into a wavy groove, alternating amateurly between both styles. Donna stood back and laughed at him for a moment.

"I'm gonna pass you the power, okay Donna?" Josh announced. Donna suddenly stood a little taller, getting ready for the spotlight. "You ready?" he asked her.

"I'm ready, baby!" Donna announced, holding up her right hand. Josh moved skillfully and waved his arm and then touched his fingers to hers, freezing himself in place. Donna took the cue and started the wave going in her right arm as she continued her husband's ridiculous routine. She was so uncoordinated, but it was hilarious. Josh stood back and nodded in approval, looking back at Ella. Finally, she had a small smile on her face. Donna continued for a little while longer. Katie and Audrey watched in horror, but it was still funny.

"Pass it back! Pass it back!" Josh finally urged. Donna moved her body and touched her fingertips back to Josh's, sending the pulse back through him. Josh 'danced' around a little bit more, if that's what you could call it. "Okay, Ella, you ready?" He asked for her approval before putting her on the spot.

"What me?"

"Yeah, you." He told her. "You gotta do the robot, baby! We're at a Celtics game!" Ella smiled and finally felt it was okay to be a little silly again.

"Okay." She said with a little bit of unsureness in her voice. Josh touched his fingertips to hers and she took on the movements. She did it shyly at first, and within moments, she passed the power down to Audrey. Audrey danced a little, but then quickly passed it back to Ella, rooting her on.

Ella sighed at the return but then started to get into it more as the others cheered her on.

"Yeah! You got it Ella!" Josh encouraged her, smiling.

"Woo!" Donna hooted. "You go, girl!"

Ella continued and then passed the power back to Audrey, who passed it to Katie. They family of five continued their passing of power for the rest of the song as the people behind them laughed in amusement. They got a round of applause at the end from their audience. Ella had a huge smile on her face. Finally, they all sighed to themselves in relief. They were making progress.

After the game was over, the Lymans and Ella were walking down the sidewalk on their way back to their car, discussing the game, which the Celtics had won, and their dance routine.

"Donna is definitely the master." Josh explained to Ella. "But I taught her all the moves."

"Oh really?" Ella played along.

"Hell, yes." He reaffirmed. "And the girls inherited my innate ability to move." Josh bragged.

Donna punched him in the arm and the girls all laughed.

They continued their playful conversation. The night seemed to be going so well and Ella finally seemed to be calming down a bit and returning to as normal of a life as possible. Soon, the happiness would be over, though, and she'd come crashing back down.

As they turned the corner, a car in the street violently rear-ended the car in front of it, sending the two passengers lurching forward helplessly. Ella immediately stopped in her tracks and got a frightened and desperate look in her eyes. Tears were beginning to form.

The Lymans had continued walking, looking at the accident, not even thinking about what this could do to Ella. A few seconds later, they noticed her absence and quickly ran back to where Ella was standing helplessly, about to break apart.

As they reached her, Ella started to break down, crying hard immediately. Donna and Josh were on either side of her, each grabbing her arms.

"It's okay, sweetheart." Josh told her. "Let's go sit down, okay?" They directed her to a bench nearby and she immediately curled up into a ball and continued to weep.

"It happened so fast!" she managed to get out. It's as if she was having a nightmare. "She must have been so scared! She didn't deserve that!"

"I know, sweetheart." Donna said. "We were all so shocked. We all wish she could still be with us."

Katie and Audrey stood helplessly just in front of them, glad that their parents knew what to do. Truthfully, they had no idea what they were doing and were taking blind stabs in the dark concerning the way they handled Ella's grief.

Josh and Donna just let her cry for a few more minutes, just holding her and stroking her hair gently as she let it all out. A few passerbys stared down at them questioningly.

When she'd finally stopped crying, they gently urged her the keep walking.

"Let's go home okay?" Josh suggested.

Ella looked at him curiously. "Can I stay with you forever?" She questioned him. Josh looked over at Donna, and he could tell her heart was going out to the poor girl sitting with them. Ella deserved to know what was going to happen to her. She didn't de serve to be with her father. Ella deserved a loving, caring family, and they hoped they could provide it. Donna told him it was okay to tell her with her eyes.

"Well, we're working on it, sweetheart." Josh confessed to her. This was also news to Katie and Audrey, who exchanged hopeful glances. Josh and Donna had quietly been working to file the paperwork to become what the state of Virginia called a Non-relative Free Home, a type of foster home where the orphaned child lived with non-relatives and didn't receive any financial assistance from the state. They'd have to get the okay from Ella's father and the government, but with his attitude, they figured it wouldn't be a big deal.

That seemed to comfort Ella and she allowed them to help her up. They silently walked to their car and drove home. Home.

That evening, Ella began her night tucked up in Audrey's bed with Audrey and Katie sleeping on the camping mattress. Soon, she moved out of the bed and onto the floor with her friends. The three girls snuggled close and soon were fast asleep.

Josh and Donna peeked in later to check on them, finding the three bundled up on the floor. They smiled at the sight. If things went right, it would be their three daughters. Ella had always been like a daughter to them, but now it would be official. Not that they wanted it to happen like this, but it seemed the best possible solution to the situation.

After making sure they were all tucked in, they closed Audrey's bedroom door behind them. Standing outside the door, Josh turned to face his wife and laced their fingers together.

"I think she's doing better." Josh whispered.

"I think so too." Donna whispered back, letting their noses nuzzle together.

"Have you heard from John at all?" She dared ask.

Josh sighed, obviously disturbed by the very mention of his name. I've left voice mails about it, but no response yet."

"What if he doesn't respond? We can't legally become her foster parents if he doesn't agree, can we?"

"I don't know Donna." He told her honestly. "I hope we can get around it somehow. There has to be some clause about deadbeat pricks."

"I hope so." Donna said and kissed him gently on the lips.

"She's here with us now, anyway." Josh said, breaking the kiss, running his hands up and down her arms gently.

Donna nodded and offered a small smile.

"Let's go to bed. I'm exhausted." Josh said.

"Exhausted from all that hideous dancing!" Donna teased as they walked to their bedroom, holding hands.

"You know you loved it." Josh bantered back.

"I love you in spite of it." Donna bantered back. Josh and Donna were soon in each others arms in bed, and fell asleep holding one another, getting ready to fight the battle that the next day, weeks, and months would bring.


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

_Bush – "Letting the Cables Sleep"_

_You in the dark, you in the pain_

_You on the run, living a hell_

_Living your ghost, living your end_

_Never seem to get in the place that I belong_

_Don't wanna lose the time_

_Lose the time to come_

_Whatever you say it's alright_

_Whatever you do it's all good_

_Whatever you say it's alright_

_Silence is not the way_

_We need to talk about it_

_If heaven is on the way_

_If heaven is on the way_

_You in the sea, on a decline_

_Breaking the waves_

_Watching the lights go down_

_Letting the cables sleep_

_Whatever you say it's alright_

_Whatever you do it's all good_

_Whatever you say it's alright_

_Silence is not the way_

_We need to talk about it_

_If heaven is on the way_

_We'll wrap the world around it_

_If heaven is on the way_

_If heaven is on the way_

_I'm a stranger in this town_

_I'm a stranger in this town_

Donna and Josh had called all three girls in to school absent for the fourth day in a row. They just could not concentrate on school at all with such a huge blow to their world. Donna and Josh had tried to teach their girls all their lives how to be caring, compassionate individuals, and it shone through now like it never had before. The girls never left Ella's side (unless she needed to be alone) and were so in tune with what she needed and wanted. Audrey showed a gentleness that rarely peeked its head out, and Katie showed once more how incredibly benevolent she could be. Donna and Josh had been proud of their daughters before, but they had never felt more pride than they did that week after Carol Parker's death.

In contrast to The Lymans' kind-heartedness, John Parker had selfishly hopped on a flight back to California, too afraid, or perhaps too egocentric to talk to Ella. The Lymans all thought Ella was better off for it. John had been a dark force hovering over her all her life until he finally left. It hurt her immeasurably to be abandoned because even though he'd hurt her, he was still her father and she loved him. But now that she knew better, Ella knew what a rat bastard he was and knew her life was largely better with his absence.

They took her to the beach that day near sunset. Ella had always loved the beach ever since she was a little girl. The Lymans and Parkers had taken all three girls to the beach for the first time when they were all about four years old. Ella's enthusiasm over the new environment was insatiable. She marveled at the feel of the fine wet grain under her tiny delicate feet. Now at the age of sixteen and practically orphaned, Ella gazed out over the vast space of reds and purples as she let the cool salty water spill over her bare legs. Breathing in the sweet sea air, she let the ocean work its magic, soothing her soul as her hair gently blew in the soft breeze. The four Lymans stood back, giving her the space she needed.

_I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean. Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens. Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance. And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance._

The words of her mother's favorite song suddenly began to sing to her. Ella missed her mother desperately, but knew that she'd want her to continue her life to the fullest. The door had shut now on her childhood with her mother, and now a new one had opened in her new life with the Lymans. Now she had to dance. Ella missed her mother – she'd always miss her mother. But she had to get back to her life, as normally as possible, and start to enjoy her friends and family again. It's what her mother would have wanted and would have expected. It's why she sent Ella to live with the Lymans last year. She knew Ella wasn't happy at the time and needed to figure herself out. Ella knew her mother would have wanted her to live with the Lymans, even if it wasn't in her Will.

A single tear fell from Ella's eyes as she took a deep breath in and sighed out, hugging herself tightly. She had to take care of herself and keep herself strong.

She felt a hand on her shoulder shortly after. Audrey.

"Are you okay?" Audrey gently asked her.

Ella wordlessly nodded and wiped the tear away. "I will be."

Later, the Lymans and Ella walked down the beach, shoes in hand as they let their feet dip into the water occasionally. They walked silently, letting the ocean speak for itself, hoping it would offer any sort of comfort to their Ella. As they walked, all five slowly started to notice some soft music coming from a tiny seaside restaurant nearby, a band playing a sad, but hopeful song.

_In the arms of the angel, fly away from here_

_From this dark cold hotel room_

_And the endlessness that you fear_

_You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie_

_You're in the arms of the angel_

_May you find some comfort here_

The restaurant seemed to call to them. It seemed to know they were coming and were playing exactly the right song to reel them in, the lyrics mirroring their situation.

"Hungry?" Josh questioned the four women walking with him.

The consensus seemed to be that they all were, so they all headed into the restaurant and were seated quickly. They requested to be outside where the band was playing. The family of five ordered drinks and small talked while they waited. Soon, a more upbeat song came on, perfectly timed.

_The summer it was heavy and sweet_

_You and I on a crowded street_

_There was music everywhere, I can see us there_

_In a happy little foreign town_

_When the world was upside down_

_Half a world away, far, far away_

_I remember, you were laughing_

_We were so in love, we were so in love_

_And the band played_

_Songs that we had never heard_

_But we danced anyway_

_We never understood the words, _

_We just sang, oh_

_La la la la la la la la la la la_

Donna made the first move and got up with a smirk on her face like she had a plan. She held out her hand to Ella who took it, smiling, telling her it was okay. They started swinging each other exuberantly, giggling the entire time. Ella was finally smiling. After watching for about a verse, Josh got off his chair and forced both his daughters up to dance. Josh was never much of a dancer, which made the occasion that much more special. He wasn't that great either, making the four women laugh at his questionable moves. As the song finished, they got a modest round of applause from their small but supportive crowd. A charming little family they were, now complete with three daughters.

John Parker wasn't returning the phone calls that Josh and Donna and their lawyer left on his answering machine. The Lymans were ready to move along with the foster family process, but John just seemed to avoid it out of spite. If he couldn't have his daughter, no one could, apparently.

"We do have another option." Lymans' lawyer, Mrs. Phillips, said to them a few days later. "She could apply for a legal emancipation from her father. If we set up a court date and he doesn't show up…"

"Which he probably wouldn't." Josh interjected.

"The judge would most likely lean towards awarding it to her. She would have to get a job to show she has a source of income, but then Ella could live wherever she chooses."

The lawyer went on to explain all the legal fine print to Josh and Donna, but emancipation seemed to be the best solution to their problem. They would talk to Ella about it later that night.

The girls had finally since gone back to school. In their small, tight-knit school, all the students were aware of what had happened and were very supportive of Ella. The Lymans had kept the emancipation hush-hush, so no one knew about that yet, but they knew Ella was living with Audrey and Katie.

Audrey had just finished her fifth period class and made her way to her locker to retrieve her books for the rest of the day. She turned the combination and as she opened the door, she noticed a small piece of white paper, folded up, sitting at the bottom of her locker. She slowly picked it up, not knowing what it could be. Had Galen written her a nasty note? She unwrapped the note and began to read intently.

_Hair glowing in the moonlight,_

_Face shining like the sun_

_This beauty you bring to my sight_

_I know I cannot run_

_Presence – that of a good friend,_

_Is what you represent to me_

_Happiness forever – without end_

_When together we may be_

_Raindrops falling in a flowing creek,_

_Flowing like my being – to you_

_Thine company is what I seek,_

_These feelings I cannot undo_

_So, let me be brief,_

_As I should have from the start_

_Feelings – vast like a reef,_

_So that I may have your heart_

_Audrey Lyman – please grace me with your presence at the prom with me – Sincerely, Edward Groves_

The prom? Oh, God, she'd totally forgotten about the prom amidst all the grief and drama lately. Ed Groves? Special Ed? She was sure that he detested her. Audrey was always so mean to him in Yearbook class. Audrey had been the primary layout director with Ed under her. She ordered him around all the time and gave him so much crap. How could he like her? When Audrey had been forced to quit yearbook for a while, it had been Ed that had taken over in her absence. When Audrey returned, she had been less than discreet in pointing out any sort of mistake to him. She shrugged her shoulders, tucking the note into her backpack, a little excited that someone had been secretly admiring her.

When the Lymans talked to Ella that night, she was over the moon at the prospect of emancipation from her father. There was a chance that he would come and protest it, but Josh and Donna assured her that they would testify against his fitness as a parent. They'd seen enough over the years that any judge would be able to see his inability very easily. Unanimously, the three of them decided to proceed with the emancipation. They set the date for April 29th.

The three girls were still doing almost everything together, even after almost two weeks since Carol's death. Tonight, the three gathered in Katie's room to do their homework. Katie and Audrey had been trying to help Ella as much as they could with her school work. Ella was smart, but was in all regular education classes. She was known for doing just enough to get by in her classes, but the Lymans had made it quite clear that once things returned to normal, they'd have the same expectations grade wise of her as they had for their own daughters. They'd, of course, eased up a little bit since their revelation with Katie, but they were all perfectly capable of all A's and B's. The workload, however, was just intimidating and tedious for Ella.

"So, Ed Groves asked me out to the prom today." Audrey confessed to the others. They tried hard not to let the conversation turn to non-subject-specific, but it often did not work.

They both looked up from their notepads and textbooks in surprise.

"Are you shitting me?" Ella asked.

Audrey smiled and shook her head no, beaming with amusement.

"He left me a note in my locker today. Wanna see it?" She asked, reaching into her backpack already.

"Hell, yes!" Ella exclaimed. Audrey quickly handed the note over to Ella, and Katie soon scooted over to read it over her friend's shoulder. Smiling, then almost crying, then smiling again, they read it through.

"Audrey, that is so sweet." Katie told her sister. "You should totally go with him."

"That's so romantic. Especially after ass-clown." Ella agreed.

"Do you think so?" Audrey asked, smiling. She'd really been leaning towards it. But prom was only a few weeks away and she needed to get her dress, and her shoes and everything.

"Yes!" They both said firmly at the same time.

"Okay. I'll tell him yes tomorrow. Do you guys have dates?"

"Tons of people have asked me, I think out of pity. I want to go, but I don't know who with." Ella said. She'd dreamed of the prom ever since she was a little girl. This is not how she pictured her prom night and date selection to go. She was well-liked at school, but everyone just seemed to be overly nice to her since her mother passed away. It was great that everyone was being so kind and supportive, but she wanted her prom night to be special, not a pity date from someone.

"Has Eric Braley asked you?" Audrey inquired, throwing out the first suitable boy she could think of. Eric was a good guy and he'd liked Ella for a long time.

"Yeah. He asked me two days ago. I said I'd think about it."

"You should let him take you." Katie told her. "He's really sweet."

"Okay." She agreed. He would do. "Now, what about you, Katie?"

Katie looked down, embarrassed. She'd never really dated at all in her life, something that her dad had appreciated very much. All three girls thought for a few moments about who would be suitable.

"Chandler Thomas!" Audrey and Ella both came up with his name at the same time.

"Chandler?" Katie repeated in curiosity. "Why would he want to go out with me?"

"You're not going out, you're just going to the prom." Audrey said.

"You say it like it's going to be a baseball game. The prom is a big deal."

"Exactly. So you need to have a suitable date. Chandler's liked you for a little while too. I can tell."

"How can you tell?" Katie whined, not believing her sister was an expert matchmaker.

"He stares at you in government class sometimes." Audrey informed her, matter-of-factly, grinning from ear to ear.

"He does?"

"Oh yeah." Audrey nodded enthusiastically. "Either that, or he's thoroughly pondering the fine inner-workings of the U.S. government and happens to be staring at your head."

The three girls giggled and tried to get back to concentrating on their homework.

April 29th came sooner than everyone thought. The Lymans left one message on Mr. Parker's answering machine, hoping that he wouldn't show up. They'd notified him once, and that was all that was required. As of that morning, they had not heard anything from him and assumed he wasn't coming.

The new family of five went to court that morning, clad in formal clothing to make a good appearance. The judge knew who Josh and Donna were, of course, so that would also work in their favor. The sat patiently before the judge as he began the proceeding. They assumed everything was a go, until John Groves suddenly walked into the courtroom.

They all looked back to see John, dressed in a business suit, with a saddened look on his face. John was unpredictable, so they didn't know what his appearance would entail. Would he try to take Ella back? Was he vengeful towards the Lymans? John didn't look at anyone as he took a seat at the opposite table as the Lymans.

"Mr. Parker?" The judge asked.

"Yes, your honor. Sorry I'm late. I came from California."

"Thank you for joining us." The judge continued. "We are here today to discuss the legal emancipation of Miss Eleanor Anne Parker, daughter of John Theodore Parker and the late Carol May Parker. If it is determined that it is in Eleanor's best interest to be removed from the guardianship of Mr. Parker, she will be emancipated and will be allowed to live wherever she chooses, providing she seeks employment. Ella, would you like to say anything?"

"Yes, your honor." Ella spoke up, looking older and mature in a sensible skirt and long-sleeved top. She'd prepared some less-than-complimentary remarks about her father, not anticipating he'd be in the room to hear it.

"God, Ella, don't lose your strength now." Josh whispered so only his wife heard him.

She took a deep breath and cleared her throat nervously as she approached the witness stand. Ella avoided making eye contact with her father and instead focused on the Lymans. She could feel her father's eyes drilling into her, making her nervous. Why did he have to come? Why was he here? What was he going to say?

"Your honor, I request emancipation from my father, John Theodore Parker of California. Up until a few weeks ago, I resided with my mother, Carol May Parker, my entire life. Growing up, my father also lived with us up until I was thirteen years old. During these years, my father continuously abused my mother and me both physically and emotionally." Ella had to stop, getting teared up. She looked at Donna, who gave her a reassuring nod, giving her the strength to continue.

"He…he has scarred me emotionally and physically for life by bea…beating me, calling me names, and putting me down continuously."

Ella swallowed again, still focusing on Josh and Donna.

"Since the age of three, I have been blessed, however, to have a family by the name of the Lymans in my life. I met Kaitlyn and Audrey Lyman as a three-year-old in preschool and soon became very attached and loved by them and their parents, Joshua and Donnatella Lyman." Ella's voice was now strong and proud, telling of all the Lymans had done for her life. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father scratch his head uncomfortably.

"Over the years, they have loved me, counseled me, and saved me from my home situation several times. Last year, they even invited me into their home to stay for two months. When my mother died three weeks ago, they were the first to open their home once again to me and provide me love and support in my time of grief. My father was on the other side of the country in California while all this was happening. I hadn't seen him for two years and had only talked to him three times in that period of time. I have being staying with the Lymans for three weeks now, and they have provided me with a loving home, one that I could never find while under the guardianship of my father. Your honor," She turned to the judge, "I request emancipation from my father based on past documented abuse and his physical and emotional distance from me. I have a secure job at Bob's Quality Shoes in the local mall, meeting the requirements of employment. If emancipated, I would choose to live with the Lyman family, under their agreement, until the age of eighteen. Thank you, your honor." Ella took a deep breath and stepped down from the stand and walked back to her seat, never looking at her dad.

The four Lymans smiled at her proudly as she joined them. It wasn't official yet, but they felt that she had just officially joined their family. Josh gave her a supportive pat on the back

"Thank you, Eleanor." The judge said. "Mr. Parker, is there anything you would like to say to the court?"

Five pairs of eyes shot over to the man sitting on the other side of the room. John didn't look at them.

"Yes your honor." He requested, rubbing his nose with his finger nervously. John walked up to the stand, looking less than the powerful man Ella had always imagined him to be. Her father had always intimated her as a little girl, but now he was nothing more than a cowering imbecile.

"I'll be quick. I don't want to delay…anything." He looked down at the Lymans. "I just wanted to say that I believe I cannot provide a loving home for my daughter, Eleanor Anne Parker. For a while now, I have realized that I am not fit to be considered her father. All the things she just said are, unfortunately, true. I have a temper, and yes, I have a problem with my anger. Eleanor and her mother have been on the receiving end of this for quite a while now. I never meant any harm to either of them, but know there are certain things I cannot seem to control. Eleanor should be in a home where she is…where she is not in fear of being abused and where she can blossom into the beautiful young lady she is becoming. I believe in my heart that the Lyman family can provide that for my daughter. Your honor, with your agreement, I wish for my daughter to be emancipated from me by her choice, and to be allowed to live with the Lyman family." John now had tears in his eyes. "Thank you, your honor."

Donna had to put her hand up to her mouth during John's speech to keep from crying. Amidst all of his anger and selfishness, John had sometimes shown a tenderness towards Ella and Carol. They were his wife and daughter, and he loved them, but he had a problem. Donna knew it took a lot for him to admit this; he had always been an arrogant, stubborn man. Donna felt a certain amount of admiration towards John for doing this.

Josh looked over at Ella, who was sitting next to him. She was crying now too, moved by her father's words. He'd finally admitted it. Josh gently stroked her shoulder and then kissed her on the head.

The judge took in a deep breath.

"Well, it seems as though all parties are in agreement. I have spoken with the Lymans and they have agreed to take Ella into their home. If there are no other statements, I will announce my decision."

The judge waited for any refutement for about ten seconds. It felt like the longest ten seconds ever to all parties involved.

"Okay. I hereby recommend that Eleanor Anne Parker be legally emancipated from her father, John Theodore Parker. We'll get the paperwork going, and Ella will be free to live with the Lymans, as she has indicated. Court adjourned."

Ella and the Lymans all stood together and they all started hugging their new daughter and sister, though it had felt like this for the longest time. John lingered nearby, wanting to talk to Ella one last time before he left her again.

Ella turned around, sensing he was still nearby.

"Ella, are you okay to do this?" Josh whispered. Ella nodded and started to walk towards her father, who was tearful.

She took him into her arms, and the audience couldn't help but notice that it seemed Ella was the adult in the situation. John's body language was defeated and heartbroken.

"Thank you, dad." She told him.

"I love you."

"I know, dad." Ella sniffled. "I know you've always loved me. And I'll always love you, but this is the best thing for me."

"I know. I'm so sorry about your mother." He confessed.

"Thank you, dad." She whispered.

John looked up from his daughter's arms to catch Josh's eye. They exchanged an expression only dads know. Both men were her fathers now. John had her past, and Josh now had her future. John trusted Josh to finish raising her the way he never could. Silently, John conveyed this message to Josh.

The Lymans took Ella out to celebrate that night to a restaurant. They all toasted to their new family, though they'd felt like family for years. The spirits were high, five people reconnected and thankful to have each other. Katie loved the sentiment the evening was bringing. It was one of trust, honesty and renewed hope. She decided tonight would be the right time to talk to her parents about what she'd been experiencing in therapy and about her use of Ritalin.

Audrey and Ella were in Audrey's room goofing around a little bit, so Katie thought it the right time to go confront her parents in the living room. Her mother had her head rested on her dad's shoulder, holding hands, as they watched the television. They looked peaceful and serene and relaxed. She didn't want to upset their mood, but Katie was aching to get this off her chest.

"Mom? Dad?" She called them gently from the corner of the room, standing with her hands clasped in front of her. Both of them immediately turned their heads to see her.

"Do you need something, baby?" Donna asked her daughter. Katie approached the opposite couch and took a seat. Based on her body language, Josh and Donna knew what she was going to say was important to her, so they both sat up, ready to pay close attention.

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay." Josh told her. "We're all ears."

"Well, it's about my whole life, really." Katie began. "It's about what Dr. Hampton and I have been talking about in therapy."

"We're glad you're ready to talk, sweetheart, go ahead." Donna urged her on. Katie had confessed to her she was ready to talk a couple weeks ago right before Ella's mother passed away. After that, the timing just didn't seem right. All their attention had been focused on comforting Ella. Donna had recently been feeling guilty about it. Her daughter had needed her, and she'd been busy with something else. This is exactly what she felt she needed to be working on – being emotionally available to Katie. Donna was relieved that she'd finally come to her and Josh.

"Well, we kind of talked about the expectations you have of me." She paused and looked down. "You know, they're pretty high. And it can get kind of overwhelming sometimes." Katie looked back up at them, concern painted on their faces.

"How long have you felt like this?" Josh asked her.

"I don't know. All my life. Ever since I started school, I guess."

That stabbed them both in the heart. They thought they'd given her a normal, care-free childhood, but apparently they hadn't.

"Do you remember a specific instance, or has it just always been there?" Donna asked.

"Well, it's really always been there, because you're both pretty powerful and important people, but I do remember one particular instance."

Katie went on to explain the instance she had described to her therapist that very first session, when she felt it wasn't okay to get anything less than an A.

Donna rubbed the tops of her legs nervously and Josh ran a hand through his hair.

"Wow." Josh said, not knowing what to say.

Donna got up to go sit next to her daughter and put an arm around her, kissing her gently on the head.

"You've been keeping this in all these years?" Donna asked, feeling more guilty than ever.

Katie nodded, looking back at her mother.

"I'm so sorry, baby. We had no idea. We didn't mean to put all that pressure on you. Your father and I just want you to succeed, but I know we can be a little overwhelming sometimes."

"It's okay." She told her mother. "I know you just want me to be my best. And now that all this has happened with Ella, I actually feel kind of thankful. I have two parents who love me and who push me to succeed. She never had that. Ella's great and everything, but she just doesn't expect that much from herself, you know? She settles for less than she deserves sometimes."

Josh got up and joined his wife and daughter on the other couch, sitting beside Katie.

"But now she's got a whole family who cares about her and wants her to do her best. She's lucky to have you. I know it's what her mom would have wanted. Carol did her very best, but it's hard being a single mom, you know. Especially having an abusive history." Josh told his daughter.

"I know. I'm not trying to say Carol didn't do a good job, but, you know, John kind of screwed it up. Ella's a bit of a loose cannon."

"Yeah." Josh agreed. He was stroking her hair gently now. "We'll all help her with that, though, won't we?"

"Yeah."

"Good girl." Josh cleared his throat. "Well, I think next year we should maybe cut back on those AP classes. Two is way too much. Why don't you just choose one for your schedule."

"I think that sounds like a very good idea." Donna agreed.

"And Katie," Josh said again, "You can go wherever you want for college. I hope mom and I weren't pressuring you to try to get into Harvard or even the Ivy League. It's really your decision, so don't let us talk yourself out of anything, okay?" He winked at her and Donna patted Katie's knee in agreement with her husband.

"Okay. Thanks guys." She said. "Oh, and one more thing."

"What is it?" Donna asked.

"I…uh." She stammered. This would be hard for them to hear. "I used Ritalin again a few weeks back right after Ella's mom died. Audrey caught me and flushed them down the toilet and said she wouldn't tell, but I needed to be honest with you. I haven't used it since then."

Josh and Donna's hearts dropped for a second, but then their trust in their daughter was once again reestablished. She'd come clean with them, and now she'd gone weeks without it. She'd be fine.

"Thank you for being honest with us, sweetheart." Donna said for both of them. "You're very strong for being able to admit it and to get help."

"Thanks." She smiled uncomfortably. "Well, I better get back to my homework." Katie announced.

"Alright, sweetheart. I love you." Josh told her as he kissed her head one last time. His wife followed suit and then Katie left the room.

Josh and Donna both sighed heavily once their daughter was gone and leaned back, exhausted, on the back of the couch.

"I can't believe she hasn't told us all these years." Josh said, perfectly in sync with Donna's thoughts.

"But I'm glad she finally did." Donna said, taking her husband's hand in hers.

"Yeah." Josh brought their hands up and he kissed the back of Donna's. "She'll be fine. But we'll still keep a close eye on her, huh?"

"Yeah." They snuggled back together on the couch, still holding hands and leaning against one another.

One week later, Katie, Audrey, and Ella were nervously and excitedly getting ready to go to the prom. They'd been dreaming of this all their lives and had to make sure every single thing was perfect. Curlers, mascara, powder, jewelry, and other assorted items cluttered the girls' vanity center. The girls were poofs of pink, green, and blue in their beautiful evening gowns as they anxiously moved about the tiny area, occasionally bumping into one another. Donna was among them, trying to fix this and that. Josh just stayed away – this was definitely female territory.

"Mom, this piece of hair will not stay put!" Katie complained. "I need more bobby pins!"

"I'm trying, honey, just be patient." Donna pleaded as she fiddled with her daughter's hair. The mood was exciting, but her daughters' three stomachs were tied in knots.

"Katie, you said I'd get to wear those earrings tonight!" Audrey complained, seeing the pair of dangling diamond earrings that belonged to her mother on her sister's ears.

"Mom said I could use them."

"Mom!" Audrey questioned her mother, putting her hands on her hips. The ugly look on her face was so ironic as she stood looking the most beautiful Donna had ever seen her.

"Audrey, do not raise your voice. We agreed that Katie could wear the earrings and you would get the necklace."

"But they're a set!"

"And so are you two. You can share."

Audrey let out a frustrated sigh and stamped her feet angrily twice.

"Take a chill pill!" Ella said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood back up. She'd never had real sisters before, and couldn't understand how they could fight at a time like this. Well, yeah she could. It was Audrey and Katie.

"Sorry." Katie said as she examined her face carefully in the mirror. "No pimples! Woo hoo!" She exclaimed.

Audrey hadn't quite been so lucky. Donna was now delicately and meticulously applying concealer to a spot that had appeared the night before, despite the unwavering attention Audrey had paid to her skin the past week.

"Shut up." Audrey scowled, but then smiled in amusement at the irony. "The one frickin' night…" She complained. Audrey made her sisters and mother giggle too and they were soon in peals of laughter, accentuated by the nervousness undoubtedly filling the room.

Donna stepped out of the vanity center and closed the door behind her. Josh had been waiting in the living room all by himself the entire time, listening to some of the things that were happening in the other room. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he wanted to know any small thread of what was going on with his daughters. They'd spoken of nothing but the prom for weeks now. Donna had taken them dress shopping a couple of weeks ago. He'd gotten the bill for that – no new clothes for them for four months. Recently, he'd heard the four women giggling uncontrollably in the other room. The girls were now all gathered in Katie's room, posing for one another from what he could hear.

"Are you ready?" Donna asked him, beaming. They'd never looked so beautiful and knew it would probably bring Josh to tears.

Josh breathed out heavily, the sigh only a father who knew he was about to instinctively be brought to tears at the sight of his little girls all donned up in their prom dresses.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He told Donna as he stood up and clasped his hands together behind him. Donna smiled – he was so adorable.

She leaned back a little to call them. "Girls! Come show dad your dresses!"

Josh took another deep breath in as he waited. Seconds later, first Audrey emerged in a beautiful light blue gown, poofed out at the bottom 'just like Cinderella,' as she'd excitedly described to him days before. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun, with wisps of curly hair delicately framing her face. Breathtaking was an understatement.

Katie was next, dressed in a stunning light green gown. The strapless top had a gorgeous lace fronting with a few sparkles here and there, and the bottom was elegant and long with a small train, not poofed out like her sister's. Her normally curly hair had been straightened and the top had been pulled back with a butterfly clip as the rest fell delicately to her shoulders. She wore Donna's diamond necklace and it complimented her well.

Finally, Ella emerged in a pale pink dress. She looked amazing. The long bottom of the dress came to meet a ribbed strappy top, the fabrics meeting just below her bosom. Her light brown hair was pulled up similarly to Audrey's, but she also had a silver headband to hold it back.

Josh could feel his eyes well up with tears at the sight of his two daughters, and now, practically, his third. He nervously rubbed the end of his nose, but knew he couldn't hide his emotions. Josh felt it was all too cliché. A father crying at the sight of his daughters dressed in their best. What would he do at their weddings? How do people do this?

"You all look so beautiful." He managed to get out, looking at each of them in the eyes, slightly disfigured as he looked on beneath his own tears. They were affected by his response, and quickly walked over to hug him and laugh at his amazement.

"Daddy, we're just going to the prom." Katie told him. "It's not like we're getting married."

"But you will be." He sniffled. "This is just the beginning. You're all so grown up now."

Donna watched from a few feet away, Josh surrounded by the three girls, all embracing him at once. She snapped a quick picture, which broke up the emotion and reminded them all of what was just ahead.

"Okay, enough mooshy stuff." Donna told them. "Girls, dry your eyes so your mascara doesn't run. We need to take pictures."

The girls all smiled and got tissues to dab their moist eyes. The next ten minutes were devoted to picture-taking. Each girl by herself, the twins together, all three together, Donna with each girl, Josh with each girl, and goofy shots.

The giddiness was broken up by the doorbell. All five sets of eyes turned to the door. Looking out the window, they could see that all three dates had arrived at the same time. They had planned it this way so that Josh wouldn't have to see the girls off three separate times – he couldn't handle that.

"Dad, go get the door and be civil." Audrey told Josh. Josh gave his daughter a warning look, smiling.

Josh came back into the room seconds later after introducing himself and shaking their hands. Three tux-clad, handsome young men followed nervously behind him. When they saw the girls, their eyes lit up with how beautiful they looked. After the introduction of Donna, each boy went to the girl he was taking.

Josh and Donna watched the boys intently as they gave the girls their corsages and as the girls reciprocated. Josh watched Ed closely, now even more protective of Audrey after what she'd been through with Galen. He was being so gentle and attentive to her. Josh could tell he was really nervous. He probably wasn't helping.

"How are you feeling?" Ed asked Audrey.

"I'm wearing a dress, how do you think I feel?" Audrey joked. She was never one to wear dresses or skirts ever, not even to church. Ed laughed a little more than he needed to, anxiously, and then ran a hand through his hair. After his laughter had died down, he shoved both hands in his pants pocket and waited. Josh kind of liked this kid, but he didn't quite know why yet.

"Okay, well, we need to get going." Audrey announced, looking over at her parents.

"If you must." Josh said, smiling at her.

"We must." She affirmed, smiling back.

The six teenagers slowly exited the house at the front door to the limo the boys had collectively rented. Ed held the door open for his date and the rest of the party and finally got in himself. He still looked really nervous.

Donna took Josh into her arms as they stood in the middle of the living room, now uncharacteristically quiet in the normally boisterous household of three teenage girls.

"Well, they're off." Donna said.

"Yep, they're off."

"Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" He asked, a little insulted and still emotional.

"Your little girls just went to the prom!"

"Don't remind me." He said, letting her go and plopping himself down on the couch. Donna joined him and they both put their feet up on the coffee table. "I'll just pretend they went to Chuck E. Cheese."

"Whatever works for you, baby cakes." Donna said.

"Baby cakes?" He grinned.

"Mmmmhmmm." She smiled at him, resting her head on his shoulder as they cuddled. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know." He said, honestly. "Wanna watch a movie?"

Donna laughed, surprised by his answer. "Is that the best thing you can think of to do when all three of them are gone?"

"Anything else is merely background when I'm with you, Donna." He told her, and kissed her on the temple, pulling her a little closer.

"I love you, Josh." She told him.

"I love you too." Josh whispered. They sat there and cuddled together for a long time, slowly drifting off into sleep. The slumber of two parents anxiously awaiting the return of their three daughters.

THE END!


End file.
